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/  DISASTROUS  \ 

Financial  Panics 

CAUSE  AND  REMEDY 


Benefits  From  Silver  Coinage 


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BY 

JESSE  GILLMORE 


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PRICE,   25  CENTS 


Disastrous  Financial  Panics 


1837  to  1846 
1857  to  1863 
1873  to  1879 
1893  to  1900 
1907  to  


JESSE  GILLMORE 


SAN  DIEGO.  CALIFORNIA 
OCTOBER,  1908 


Press  of  Frye  &  Smith 


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INDEX 


Pages 

Adams    7 

Allison,  Senator,  et  al   52 

Arthur,  Chester  A 65 

Assignats 16 

Bank  Examiners 101 

Bankers    31,  34,  85 

Bankrupt  Law 25 

Banks,  National 42 

Bank  Note  Circulation.  42 
69,  70,  72,  74,  75,  76,  88,  100 

Borrowing 90,  100 

Deposits 101 

Loans 58,  90,  99 

Banks,  State— 

Attorneys 24 

Bank  Note  Discount  14,  23,  26 
Charters...  8,  11,  14,  17,  20,  33 
Circulation,  11,  14,  15, 19,  20,  22 

Failures 14,  22 

Resumption 15 

Specie 19,  20,  28 

Banks,  U.  S 8,  9,  11,  15,  17,  19 

B.  &  O.  R.  R    29 

Bayard,  Thos.  F 54,  67 

Belmont,  Aug  45,  54,  57 

Benton 16,  22 

Bonds.  .22,  24,  40,  67,  80,  81,  82,  83 

Brown,  W.  C 102 

Building  101,  110 

Calhoun 23 

Canada 99 

Chase,  Salmon  L  42 

China 98,  99,  106 

Clay 17,  22,  24,  27 

Clearing  House  Certificates  . . 

72,  90,  120 

Cleveland,   Grover 60,  66 

67,  68,  69,  74,  75,  80,  81,  82,  83 

Commission,  Financial 93,  94 

Confederacy   43,  45 

Continental  Currency 6 

Contraction  23,  50,  69,  76,  77 

Cook,  Jay   ...   49,  50,  108,  109,  110 

Cooper,  Peter 51 

Cotton 11,  14,  28 

....  73,  77,  86,  93,  110,  120 
Counterfeit  Silver 106,  107 

Democratic  Leader.  .45,  46,  54,  107 

Depew,  U.  S.  Senator  .... 

92,  93,  94,  108.  114 


Pages 
Disastrous  Financial  Panics  . . 

-5.  12,  22_ 

38,  49,  75,  80,  84,  91,  92,  120 
Donations    21 

Eckels,  James  H 87 

Educate 110,  118,  119,  120 

Failures  

14,  24,  25,  44,  50,  66,  70,  72,  87 
France.  .42,  77,  95,  96,  97,  105,  108 

Franklin,  B 5,  7 

Frewen,  Sir  Morton 77,  108 

Financial  System.  .12,  40,  93,  100 
Funding  Scheme 47 

Gary,  E.  H 103 

Gillmore,  Jesse 

..20,  27,  36,  40,  51,  52,  63,  120 

Gillmore,  Jonathan 

5,  10,  18,  20,  21,  26 

Gold— 

Coinage 

8,   9,   20,  33,  66,  88,  105,  110 

Debased 20,  35 

Demonetized 36 

Exports 21 

37,  47,  49,  57,  70,  72,  75,  85  * 

Import 66 

Payments 59,  110 

Gwin,  W.  N   20 

Hard  Times 3Q,  38,  51,  72 

Harriman,  E.  H 39,  103,  104 

Harrison,  Benjamin 70,  71 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B 62,  64,  65 

Hoile,  James  T 102 

Hops 77,  86,  93,  110 

Idleness    30,  93 

India,  British .  .  75,  98,  99,  106,  120 

Jackson,  Andrew. .  .  17,  19,  20,  119 

Japan 99,  106 

Jefferson,  Thomas 9,  10,  119 

Kent,  Senator 12 

Lawyers.  .   10,  22,  24,  118,  119,  120 
Lincoln,  President 44 

McKinley.  Wm.  J   73,  87,  88 

Martin,  Warwick 91,  109 

Mexico .116 

Money 45,  79,  113,  114 


1 73696 


INDEX— Con  tw  ued. 


Pagfs 

New  Orleans 18,  27,  110,  119 

New  York  City 104,  108,  110 

Population   5,   10,  19,  32,  44 

Presidents  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  15,  16,  17 
19,  21,  25,  31,  32,  ?>?>,  34,  36,  37 
41,  43,  44,  47,  48,  49,  62,  65,  87 

Prices,  Produce 21,  28,  77 

Prosperity 21,  ?>?>,  36 

Ragnet,  Senator  C 15 

Railroads 94,  95,  103,  120 

Republican  Leader 46,  71 

Riots .  .  30,  63,  86 

Ripley,  E.  P 94,  103,  106,  108 

Rolin,  M 108 

Roosevelt,  Theodore 89,  90 

Rothschilds,  30,  35,  57,  59,  73,74,106 

Sherman,  James  S 120 

Sherman,  John 48,  54,  55,  56 

57,   58,  60,  62,  68,  71,  106,  107 

Sii^vER — 

Coinage 

8,  9,  19,  20,  23,  28,  54,  55,  61 
62,  65,   66,   99,   105,   110,  120 

Debased 35 

Demonetized 36,  47,  110 

Export  19,  21,  Z2>,  35,  36,  47,  57 

Imports 28,  30,  2,?,,  37 

Remonetize 

48,  108,  110,  111,  112 

Suspension 10 

Trade  Dollar 48.  54.  59 


Pages 
Slidell,   John,    U.  S.    Senator, 

1857 40 

States,  Bonds 26,  28,  29,  30 

Supreme  Court,  U.  S 63,  69 

Taft,  Wm.  H.,  Gov 61,  90,  120 

Tariff   11,  24,  32,  117 

Thompson,  John 29,  108,  109 

Tyler,  John 25,  26,  31,  40,  119 

U.  S.  Government— 

Congress 7,  22,  23,  74,  118 

Deposits 13,  16,  23 

Government  Loans 

13,  90,  91,  100 

Legal  Tender  Notes  

..6,  10,  13,  29,  55,  64,  79,  110 
Treasury  Notes 

10,  22,  24,  26,  32,  S3,  35 

37,  40,  41,  43,  44,  49,  58,  64,  73 

Van  Buren,  Martin 21,  25,  26 

Vicksburg 18 

Wages  and  Salaries 21,  50,  87 

War 11,  14,  32,  41 

Wealth 5 

World's  Progress.. 98,  100,  106,  108 


Disastrous  Financial  Panics 


TWO  GENERATIONS. 

My  father,  Jonathan  Gillmore,  was  born  June  10th,  1779,  at 
Ira,  Vermont,  being  before  the  final  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  The  population  then  was  about  4,000,000, 
now  about  90,000,000.  In  1800  my  father  left  home  on  horse- 
back, arriving  at  New  York  City,  population  then  about  60,000, 
now  about  4,300,000. 

EXPANSION,  WEALTH  AND  INVENTIONS. 

The  area  of  our  country  from  a  comparatively  restricted 
width  of  territory  along  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  has  been  immensely 
expanded,  and  occupies  the  very  larger  portion  of  the  land  be- 
tween the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  The  wealth  from  less  than 
one  thousand  million  dollars  has  been  increased  enormously,  now, 
estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  million  dollars, 
and  the  discoveries  of  most  wonderful  inventions,  of  every  con- 
ceivable nature.  All  within  the  lives  of  two  generations — my 
father  and  myself. 

DISASTROUS  FINANCIAL  PANICS. 

The  growth  of  the  wealth  of  our  country  has  been  acquired 
under  very  varied  conditions.  At  times  the  people  throughout  the 
country,  with  a  gradual  increase  of  the  circulation,  would  make 
good  progress  and  their  wealth  increase  gradually,  then  it  would 
be  more  rapid  with  expanded  credits,  when  there  would  be  a 
sudden  check  owing  to  the  inability  of  the  people,  through  an 
unwise  financial  system,  to  increase  the  volume  of  the  circula- 
tion, thus  creating  a  crisis,  which,  through  the  checking  of  the 
business,  caused  a  stagnation  that  would  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  grow  into  a  disastrous  financial  panic  of  such  magnitude 
as  to  most  seriously  affect  the  entire  interest  of  the  people,  and 
retard  the  continuous  growth  of  the  wealth  of  our  country.  There- 
fore, our  Government  should  adopt  a  just,  wise  and  generous 
financial  system  of  its  own,  free  from  all  other  interest  or  alli- 
ance, to  enable  it  through  its  vast  wealth  to  maintain  an  adequate 
d  continuous  increase  of  the  volume  of  money  required  for  the 
Ifare  of  our  people,  and  prevent  such  further  disastrous 
ancial  panics  as  prevailed  throughout  our  country  as  in  1814, 
1837,  1857,  1873  and  1893,  each  of  several  years  duration,  and 
that  of   19  07   now   prevailing,   and   most   seriously   affecting  the 

Iople — all  brought  on  by  the  very  bad  and  expensive  financial 
stem  of  our  Government  and  its  bad  management. 
DR.  FRANKLIN'S  VIEWS. 
Go  back  to  the  days  of  the  Colonies  and  learn  of  the  condi- 
ms  that  prevailed  then.  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  his  autobi- 
iraphy,  makes  the  following  statement:  "I  remember  well 
when  I  first  walked  about  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  I  saw 
many  of  the  houses  in  Walnut  street  between  Second  and  Front 


m 


streets,  with  bills  on  their  doors,  "To  Let;"  and  many  likewise 
in  Chestnut  street  and  other  streets,  which  made  me  think  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  were  one  after  another  deserting  it. 
Pennsylvania,  before  it  made  paper  money,  was  totally  stripped 
of  its  gold  and  silver.  The  difficulties  for  want  of  cash  were 
accordingly  very  great,  the  part  of  the  trade  being  carried  on  by 
the  extremely  inconvenient  method  of  barter.  When  in  1723, 
paper  money  was  first  made,  there  was  a  cry  among  the  people 
for  more  paper  money.  The  utility  of  this  currency  became  by  time 
and  experience  so  evident,  that  the  principles  upon  which  it  was 
founded  were  never  afterwards  much  disputed,  so  that  it  grew 
soon  to  be  $275,000.  Trade,  building,  and  inhabitants  all  the 
while  increasing.  On  the  whole,  no  method  had  hitherto  been 
found  to  establish  a  medium  of  trade,  in  lieu  of  money,  equal  in 
all  its  advantages  to  bills  of  credit,  founded  on  sufficient  taxes 
discharging  it,  on  land  security  of  double  the  value  for  repaying 
it,  and  in  the  meantime  making  it  a  legal  tender.  The  experience 
now  of  nearly  half  a  century  has  convinced  them  of  it,  by  the 
increase  of  their  settlements,  numbers  of  general  buildings,  im- 
provements, agriculture,  shipping  and  commerce;  and  the  same 
experience  has  satisfied  the  British  merchants,  who  trade  thither, 
that  is  has  been  greatly  useful  to  them." 

LEGAL  TENDER  MONEY. 

Pennsylvania  enacted  a  law  for  the  issue  of  legal  tender 
paper  money,  which  proved  of  great  benefit  to  the  people  of  that 
colony,  enabling  them  to  become  very  prosperous  through  being 
enabled  to  have  an  ample  volume  of  real  money — serviceable 
money.  Several  of  the  colonies  issued  a  paper  currency,  redeem- 
able in  Spanish  milled  dollars.  A  few  of  such  dollars  were  to  be 
found  in  the  colonies,  which  did  not  answer  satisfactorily,  and 
caused  hard  times  among  the  people. 

COLONISTS'  GRIEVANCE. 

Finally  when  the  British  Government  found  the  colonists  of 
Pennsylvania  were  so  prosperous,  and  that  it  was  brought  about 
through  the  issue  of  legal  tender  paper  money,  they  declared  by 
law  that  only  gold  and  silver  coin  thereafter  should  be  a  legal 
tender  in  the  colonies,  of  which  there  was  only  a  very  limited 
amount,  being  entirely  insufficient  to  make  the  exchanges,  and 
which  caused  a  great  hardship  upon  the  colonists.  Consequently 
the  people  became  greatly  dissatisfied  and  rebelled  against  the 
action  of  the  mother  country. 

All  the  colonists  joined  and  declared  they  would  no  longer 
tolerate  the  bad  conditions  and  a  rebellion  broke  out.  A  number 
of  the  British  people  sympathized  with  the  colonists  and  protested 
against  the  wrong. 

VIEWS  OF  HITME. 

David  Hume,  English  historian,  states  that,  "The  British  Gov- 
ernment took  away  from  America  its  representative  money,  com- 
manded that  no  more  paper  bills  of  credit  should  be  issued,  that 
they  should  cease  to  be  a  legal  tender,  and  collected  the  tax  in 
silver.  This  was  in  1773.  Now  mark  the  consequences:  This 
contraction  of  the  circulating  medium  paralyzed  all  the  indus- 
trial energies  of  the  people.  Ruin  seized  upon  thpse  once  flourish- 
ing colonies;  the  most  severe  distress  was  brought  home  to  every 


interest  and  every  family;  discontent  was  urged  on  to  despera- 
tion, till  at  last  'human  nature  arose  and  asserted  its  rights.'  In 
1774  the  American  congress  first  met  in  Philadelphia;  in  1776 
America  became  an  independent  state." 

CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS. 

Delegates  from  the  several  colonies  assembled  in  1774  and 
declared  their  grievances.  They  prohibited  importation  of  mer- 
chandise from  Great  Britain. 

Congress  in  1775,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  war  against  Britain, 
appointed  a  committee  on  currency  and  engraving,  composed  of 
Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Adams,  John  Rutledge,  James  Duane 
and  James  Wilson. 

AVISDOM  OF  FRANKLIN. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  patriot,  philosopher,  and  statesman,  who 
drew  lightning  from  the  clouds  and  the  sceptre  from  tyrants,  met 
with  the  committee,  and  most  strenuously  ur^ed  that  no  cur- 
rency be  issued  unless  it  be  real  money,  full  legal  tender  to  pay 
any  debt.  The  other  members  of  the  committee  differed  with 
him  and  they  declared  for  a  paper  currency,  made  redeemable  in 
Spanished  milled  dollars,  something  of  only  limited  volume. 
Franklin,  in  his  great  wisdom,  had  witnessed  the  wonderful  benefit 
of  the  legal  tender  paper  money  issued  by  Pennsylvania  for  the 
people  of  that  colony,  which  brought  exceedingly  prosperous  con- 
ditions, while  other  colonies  issued  a  currency  redeemable  in 
Spanish  milled  dollars,  which  produced  hard  times  and  suffering. 

JOHN  ADAMS 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Warren,  said:  "A  paper  currency  in  its 
value  will  ever  produce  appearances  in  the  political,  commercial, 
and  even  in  the  moral  world,  that  are  very  shocking  at  first  sight, 
but  upon  examination  they  will  not  be  found  to  proceed  from  a 
total  want  of  principle,  but  for  most  part  from  necessity."  It 
was  a  great  blunder  on  the  part  of  Adams  in  forcing  the  paper 
currency  that  could  not  be  used  legally  in  payment  of  debts,  con- 
sequently had  but  short  life.  But  bad  as  it  was,  it  saved  the 
people  from  taxation  for  several  years,  and  finally  gained  them 
independence. 

JAMES  DUANE 

Wrote  on  the  17th  of  June,  1775,  t?o  his  constituents  in  New 
York:  "Your  great  complaint  of  the  want  of  money  will  I  hope 
soon  be  removed,  a  resolution  to  emit  in  Continental  paper  cur- 
rency a  sum  not  exceeding  the  value  of  two  million  Spanish  milled 
dollars."  Mr.  Duane  made  a  great  blunder.  His  constituents 
wanted  money,  and  not  currency.  Also  in  ample  amount  for  the 
pressing  needs  of  the  people. 

Dr.  Franklin,  after  the  first  issue  of  the  Continental  cur- 
rency, proposed  the  funding  into  bonds  bearing  5  per  cent,  per 
annum  interest,  which  was  not  concurred  in.  The  issuance  of  the 
currency  was  continued  without  change,  and  during  1775  to  1777 
about  $25,000,000  of  the  Continental  currency  had  been  issued, 
and  had  done  good  service  in  carrying  on  the  war  for  independ- 
ence. But  it  began  to  depreciate  in  value,  owing  to  its  being 
refused  in  payment  of  debts  by  the  Tories,  and  not  being  a  legal 
tender,  could  not  be  enforced  to  pay  debts. 


8 

In  1779  the  currency  began  to  depreciate  ^;reatly  in  value, 
not  being  a  legal  tender  and  having  no  debt  paying  power,  besides 
was  being  counterfeited  and  put  in  circulation  by  Tories  and 
British  spies.  There  being  but  a  very  limited  amount  of  coined 
money  the  people  were  forced  to  barter,  causing  very  hard  times 
and  considerable  suffering. 

BANK  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 

Congress  in  1781  incorporated  the  Bank  of  North  America. 
Jefferson  disapproved  of  its  action,  stating  that  the  Government 
had  no  power  to  do  so.  He  wanted  the  money  to  be  issued  by  the 
Government  and  made  a  legal  tender. 

In  1782  the  Continental  currency  had  become  worthless,  and 
the  times  continued  to  grow  more  severe.  Rev.  John  Clarke 
wrote  Timothy  Pickering:  "It  is  my  firm  belief  that  we  are  the 
most  wretched  people  under  Heaven." 

Here  was  a  grand  opportunity  to  prevent  further  suffering 
among  the  people,  by  accepting  the  views  of  Benjamin  Franklin 
and  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  urged  Congress  to  issue  Government 
legal  tender  paper  money,  to  enable  the  employment  of  the 
people,  enable  the  payment  of  debts  and  thus  build  up  commerce, 
in  lieu  of  the  paper  currency  and  bank  note  issues,  which  have 
always  proved  a  failure.  But  John  Adams,  James  Duane  and 
others  were  for  bank  note  issues,  which  brought  failure,  hard 
times  and  suffering  among  the  people.  All  the  money  issued  by 
the  Government  of  France  is  a  legal  tender  and  can  pay  any  debt. 
Gold  is  always  held  by  the  Bank  of  France  to  sell  at  a  premium. 
In  Great  Britain  gold  coin  only  is  a  legal  tender,  and  the  Bank  of 
England  has  often  had  to  send  and  borrow  gold  from  the  Bank 
of  France  and  pay  a  premium  for  it. 

GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Congress  convened  in  1789  at  New  York  City,  and  George 
Washington  was  inaugurated  President.  He  was  the  idol  of  the 
people.  Soon  after  his  inauguration  foreign  nations  recognized 
the  United  States  Government.  His  administration  began  under 
favorable  circumstances. 

BANK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1791,  Congress  granted  a  charter 
to  the  United  States  Bank  for  20  years,  capitalized  at  $10,000,000. 
Our  Government  subscribed  for  $2,000,000  of  the  stock,  also  con- 
siderable was  subscribed  for  by  foreigners,  paying  for  the  same 
in  specie,  thus  bringing  quite  a  sum  of  metallic  money  into  the 
country.  But  in  time  the  profits  made  by  the  bank,  due  foreigners, 
had  to  be  sent  them  in  coin.  Therefore,  our  Government  could  have 
issued  its  legal  tender  paper  money  in  ample  volume  to  main- 
tain prosperous  conditions,  and  no  coin  required  to  be  sent  abroad 
for  profits  to  foreigners  nor  for  reserves,  as  is  required  in  the  case 
with  the  bank  note  circulation  and  deposits.  Besides,  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  bank  to  have  sufficient  wealth  to  furnish  the 
continuous  increasing  and  vast  amount  of  circulation  needed  by 
the  people. 

MINT  AND  COINAGE. 

On  April  2nd,  1792,  Congress  enacted  a  law  establishing  a 
mint  at  Philadelphia.    Also,  enacted  a  coinage  law  for  the  coinage 


of  gold,  silver  and  copper  coins,  all  a  legal  tender  In  the  payment 
of  debts. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1793,  George  Washington  was  in- 
augurated President  for  a  second  term.  His  administration  was 
successful  and  the  people  prospered. 

JOHN  AD.IMS  INAUGURATED. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1797,  John  Adams  was  inaugurated 
President,  who  went  into  office  while  the  country  was  in  a  fairly 
prosperous  condition,  and  the  growth  of  wealth  gradually  increas- 
ing and  all  the  while  needing  an  increasing  circulation,  but  Presi- 
dent Adams  was  extremely  conservative,  and  bitterly  opposed  to 
any  issues  of  Government  legal  tender  money,  and  as  the  banks 
could  not  give  the  needed  supply,  being  based  upon  specie,  which 
could  not  be  had  in  ample  volume,  the  people  were  forced  to 
suffer  in  their  business  from  a  contracted  circulation,  and  there 
was  considerable  complaint  among  the  people  of  hard  times. 

SILVER  AND  GOLD  COINED. 

The  coinage  of  the  mint  from  1792  to  1800  was  as  follows: 

Silver    $1,216,158 

Gold    696,530 

Copper    50,111 

Total     $1,962,799 

GOVERNOR  SULLIVAN. 

Governor  Sullivan  of  New  Hampshire,  in  1800,  stated:  "The 
balance  of  trade  against  a  nation  is  like  a  whirlpool,  drains  off  the 
cash  and  leaves  the  people  poor  indeed.  This  among  others  is  a 
great  cause  of  the  scarcity  of  money  among  us  at  this  day,  and  is 
one  of  the  principal  foundations.  We  feel  the  evil  and  com- 
plain, though  very  few  attempt  to  discover  the  source."  He 
should  have  studied  legal  tender. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1801,  Thomas  Jefferson  was  inaugurated 
President.  The  condition  of  the  people  had  greatly  improved  from 
what  it  was  during  the  days  of  the  colonies,  but  of  late  the  cir- 
culation had  not  been  increased  adequate  to  maintain  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  growth  of  wealth.  The  United  States  Bank  nor 
the  State  Banks  could  not  provide  the  needed  circulation,  as  the 
bank  notes  and  deposits  had  to  be  based  upon  specie,  which  was 
very  scarce,  consequently  there  was  complaint  of  a  scarcity  of 
money,  and  hard  times. 

SALE  OF  UNITED  STATES  BANK  STOCK. 

In  1802  the  Government  sold  the  stock  it  owned  in  the  U.  S. 
Bank,  as  President  Jefferson  alleged  that  a  large  share  of  the 
stock  was  owned  by  foreigners,  whose  share  of  the  profits  in  the 
bank  was  being  sent  out  of  the  country  in  specie,  causing  a  con- 
traction of  the  circulation.  Besides,  the  bank  was  the  medium 
for  the  gathering  and  the  export  of  the  specie,  of  which  consid- 
erable had  been  exported.  There  being  but  few  factories,  people 
had  to  import  foreign  products. 


10 

JEFFERSON  RE-ELECTED. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1805,  Jefferson  was  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent for  a  second  term.  It  was  reported  that  the  members  of  the 
legislatures  of  the  States  being  mostly  lawyers,  many  of  them 
were  occupied  in  securing  charters  for  State  Banks,  but  the  banks, 
after  being  organized,  had  great  trouble  to  secure  specie  to  enable 
the  issuance  of  bank  notes  and  secure  deposits,  there  being  a  large 
demand  for  currency,  and  the  people  suffering  in  consequence. 

SUSPENSION  OF  SILVER  DOLLAR  COINAGE. 

In  1805,  owing  to  the  great  scarcity  of  fractional  siver  coins. 
President  Jefferson  directed  the  suspension  of  the  coinage  of  silver 
dollars,  and  the  coinage  only  of  the  fractional  coins.  The  silver 
dollars  had  been  very  largely  exported. 

TREASURY  NOTES. 

President  Jefferson  saw  the  great  necessity  for  a  large  in- 
crease of  the  circulation,  and  urged  upon  Congress  to  enact  a  law 
for  the  issuance  of  a  large  volume  of  legal  tender  U.  S.  notes, 
which  the  bankers  bitterly  opposed. 

UNITED  STATES  NOTES. 

The  population  then  numbered  about  6,200,000,  who  could 
have  made  good  use  of  at  least  $150,000,000  in  legal  tender  U.  S. 
notes.  Finally  Congress  authorized  the  issue  of  only  $25,000,000, 
made  legal  tender  to  the  Government  for  all  dues,  to  be  re- 
issued or  exchangeable  for  stock  bearing  7  per  cent,  interest. 
Afterwards  another  issue  was  authorized  for  $18,600,000,  being 
temporary  makeshifts. 

The  bankers  and  their  attorneys  in  Congress  made  continu- 
ous opposition  to  the  issuance  by  our  government  of  its  legal 
tender  notes,  which  should  have  been  increased  in  ample  volume 
and  could  have  sustained  the  people  in  prosperous  conditions. 

JAMES  MADISON  INAUGURATED. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1809,  James  Madison  was  inaugurated 
President,  The  country  was  still  suffering  from  a  too  contracted 
circulation, 

SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

My  father,  Jonathan  Gillmore,  taught  school  at  Milledge- 
ville,  Georgia,  from  1800  to  1810,  thence  went  to  Covington, 
Louisiana,  where  he,  in  partnership  with  Jesse  R.  Jones,  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  brick,  shipping  them  to  New  Orleans  for 
building  purposes.  I  was  named  Jesse  after  the  partner  of  my 
father.  Here  my  father  met  anfl  married  Sarah  McCay,  daughter 
of  Alexander  McCay,  a  linen  manufacturer  of  Dromore,  Ireland. 
Five  sons  were  the  issue  of  the  marriage,  all  born  at  Covington, 
and  lived  to  manhood  and  were  occupied  in  various  branches  of 
business.  I  am  the  only  survivor,  and  am  now  engaged  in  work- 
ing for  the  best  welfare  of  the  people,  to  induce  them  to  have  our 
government  adopt  a  sound,  generous  and  safe  financial  system 
and  creating  and  placing  in  circulation  ample  legal  tender  United 
States  Notes,  in  lieu  of  permitting  banks  to  issue  the  circulation, 
which  has  never  been  ample,  safe  nor  satisfactory  for  the  business 
of  the  country. 


11 

COTTON. 

10,000   bales  of  cotton   were   manufactured   in   our   country 
during    1810,      Had   the   money  supply  been  ample  there   would 
have  been  a  far  larger  quantity  raised  and  manufactured,  and  our, 
people  saved  importing  foreign  made  goods,  had  the  money  supply 
been  ample  to  enable  the  building  of  factories. 

STATE  BANKS. 

From  1809  to  1811,  88  State  Banks  were  chartered.  Senator 
Lloyd  of  Massachusetts  estimated  the  State  Bank  Note  circulation 
in  1811  as  follows: 

Bank  notes $50,000,000 

Specie   10,000,000 

Total $60,000,000 

U.  S.  BANK  NOTES. 

Congress,  on  the  12th  of  March,  1812,  declared  that  the 
bank  notes  issued  by  the  U.  S.  Bank  be  no  longer  received  for  dues 
to  the  Government,  the  charter  having  expired. 

WAR  DECLARED. 

Our  Government,  in  1812,  declared  war  against  Great  Britain. 

BANK  CHARTER  EXPIRED. 

The  charter  of  the  U.  S.  Bank  having  expired  on  the  25th 
of  February,  1811,  after  winding  up  its  affairs  $7,000,000  was 
paid  the  foreign  stockholders,  who  exported  their  funds  in  specie, 
which  caused  a  severe  stringency  in  money. 

STATE  BANKS. 

The  State  Banks  were  increased  to  120,  and  the  State  Bank 
note  circulation  in  1813  was  estimated  by  Mr.  Dallas  as  follows: 

Bank  notes $62,000,000 

Specie    8,000,000 

Total $70,000,000 

The  population  was  estimated  at  about  8.000,000,  showing 
the  volume  of  circulation  entirely  Inadequate  for  the  use  of  the 
people,  which  kept  the  great  masses  in  poverty  and  idleness.  It 
was  a  crime. 

TARIFF. 

From  1789  to  1813  Congress  changed  the  tariff  thirteen 
times  to  raise  duties,  also  mainly  to  occupy  the  mind  of  the 
people  and  take  them  from  the  discussion  of  the  financial  ques- 
tion, just  as  the  politicians,  mostly  lawyers,  have  ever  done  and 
are  still  doing,  humbugging  the  people  with  buncombe  and  tariff, 
in  lieu  of  educating  them  upon  that  vastly  important  subject  of 
finance.  If  the  people  would  study  their  interests,  in  lieu  of 
politics,  the  country  would  prosper.  The  tariff  should  be  settled 
by  a  commission  and  not  be  continually  occupying  the  time  of  the 
members  of  Congress,  many  of  whom  are  interested  attorneys  for 
the  banks  and  other  large  corporations. 


12 

JAIVIES  MADISON. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1813,  James  Madison  was  inaugurated 
President  for  a  second  term.  Mr.  Dallas,  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, deposited  the  Government  funds  in  the  State  Banks,  consist- 
,ing  largely  of  Treasury  notes,  for  which  action  he  was  condemned 
by  the  people.  Financial  conditions  were  very  critical  and  bank 
failures  increasing. 

DISASTROUS  FINANCIAL  PANIC. 

In  1814  a  general  suspension  of  the  State  Banks  throughout 
the  country  occurred,  completely  paralyzing  all  business.  Each 
bank  refused  to  receive  bank  notes  in  exchange  with  one  another, 
causing  a  pandemonium  which  increased  rapidly  and  with  great 
severity.  What  a  wretched  condition  and  horrible  financial  system, 
which  kept  the  people  in  poverty! 

Ex-President  Jefferson  urged  upon  President  Madison  the 
issuance  of  two  hundred  million  dollars  in  United  States  legal 
tender  notes,  as  an  immediate  remedy  for  the  frightful  ills  of  a 
contracted  circulation,  from  which  the  people  were  suffering. 

WRETCHED  FINANCIAL  SYSTEM. 

The  State  Bank  system,  permitting  the  banks  to  issue  bank 
notes  based  upon  specie,  was  about  on  a  par  with  the  Continental 
currency  notes,  which  were  based  upon  "Spanish  milled  dollars," 
and  no  dollars  to  be  had.  Also,  the  deposits  in  the  banks  were 
dependent  upon  specie  reserves,  all  to  be  accomplished  with  a 
very  limited  amount  of  specie  in  the  country.  What  a  devilish 
system  concocted  by  the  members  of  Congress,  mostly  carried  out 
by  the  paid  attorneys  of  the  banks,  and  who  w^re  reported  as 
largely  indebted  to  the  banks.  '  Of  course,  some  of  the  lawyers 
were  doing  the  best  possible  for  the  people,  but  most  of  them 
were  looking  out  for  themselves.  Whenever  a  lawyer  becomes 
a  member  of  Congress  he  should  be  sworn  to  cease  all  other  ser- 
vice than  that  of  the  people.  Then  the  legislation  would  be 
honest  and  in  the  interest  of  the  great  masses  of  the  people.  It 
was  only  a  few  tricky  bankers  who  did  the  scheming.  They  lost 
in  the  end  far  more  than  they  gained  by  the  wretchedly  bad 
system,  than  if  they  had  an  honest  and  just  system.  There 
would  have  been  a  far  larger  volume  of  circulation,  which  would 
have  been  deposited  with  the  banks,  besides  there  would  not 
have  been  that  continued  hoarding  of  the  specie  by  parties  not 
having  confidence  in  banks,  also  the  bankers  themselves  continu- 
ally fighting  one  another  to  secure  the  larger  share  of  specie  by 
creating  runs  upon  each  others,  banks,  as  they  were  continually 
doing  by  gathering  bank  notes  to  create  a  run. 

SENATOR  KENT. 

Senator  Kent  of  Maryland,  in  1834,  delivered  an  address  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  in  which  he  said  that  in  1813  he  was 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  in  speaking  of 
the  deplorable  conditions  existing  at  that  time  (1813),  stated: 
"The  paper  money  issued  by  the  banks  continued  to  depreciate 
until  it  became  so  worthless  that  the  members  of  Congress  re- 
fused to  receive  it  in  payment  for  their  per  diem  allowance.  They 
were  paid  in  Treasury  notes  and  those  sold  at  a  premium.  What 
the  people  individually  lost,  and  what  the  Government  lost 
embracing  tne  period  of  the  war,  I  will  not  attempt  to  estimate. 
We  know  that  there   is   enough   of  the  trash   of  that   day  now 


13 

remaining  in  the  public  treasury,  called  unavailable  funds,  which, 
with  the  interest  added  to  it,  would  be  sufficient  to  complete  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  canal,  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  and 
the  Delaware  Breakwater,  three  great  and  magnificent  works 
intimately  connected  with  the  future  prosperity  of  the  country." 
He  said  that  in  1813  some  wag  put  up  a  sign  in  the  Custom 
House  in  Baltimore,  "Bills  of  broken  banks  received  here."  "De- 
preciated paper  borrowed  by  the  Government  at  par." 

The  banks  received  the  deposits  of  the  Government  in  94  State 
Banks  made  depositories.  A.  J.  Dallas  was  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

GOVERNMENT  LOAN. 

The  Government  being  in  urgent  need  of  funds  to  prosecute 
the  war,  A.  J.  Dallas,  a  prominent  attorney  and  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  succeeded  in  negotiating  a  loan  of  $21,000,000  with 
Stephen  Girard,  John  Jacob  Astor  and  David  Parrish  at  88  cents 
on  the  dollar,  which  they  furnished  in  State  Bank  notes  worth 
about  65  cents  on  the  dollar  in  specie,  a  brilliant  stroke  in 
finance.     Mr.  Dallas  was  a  particular  friend  of  Mr.  Girard. 


GOVERNMENT  DEPOSITORIES. 

Ninety-four  State  Banks  were  made  Government  depositories 
and  the  Government  funds  were  deposited  with  them. 

A  further  loan  for  the  Government  was  secured  in  September, 
1814,  by  Secretary  Dallas,  of  $25,000,000  at  88  cents  on  the 
dollar,  from  the  State  Banks.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  con- 
tinued depositing  the  Government  funds  with  the  State  Banks, 
which  called  forth  considerable  criticism,  and  which  finally 
brought  his  resignation. 

Andrew  J.  Dallas,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  drew  the  follow- 
ing picture  in  August,  1814:  "The  recent  exportations  of  specie 
have  considerably  diminished  the  fund  of  gold  and  silver  coins 
and  another  considerable  portion  of  that  fund  has  been  drawn  by 
the  timid  and  the  wary  from  the  use  of  the  community,  into 
the  private  coffers  of  individuals.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
multiplicity  of  banks  in  the  several  states  has  so  increased  the 
quantity  of  paper  currency,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  calculate 
its  amount,  and  still  more  difficult  to  ascertain  its  value.  But  the 
benefit  of  even  this  paper  currency  is  in  a  great  measure  lost; 
as  the  suspension  of  payments  in  specie,  at  most  of  the  banks,  has 
suddenly  broken  the  chain  of  accommodations  that  previously 
extended  the  credit  and  the  circulation  of  the  notes  which  were 
emitted  in  one  State  into  every  State  in  the  Union.  It  may  in  gen- 
eral be  affirmed,  therefore,  that  there  exists  at  this  time  no 
adequate  circulating  medium  common  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States.  The  monied  transactions  of  private  life  are  at  a  stand 
and  the  final  operations  of  the  Government  labor  with  extreme 
inconvenience."  A.  J.  DALLAS. 

Albert  Gallatin  was  appointed  as  successor  to  Dallas.  He 
recommended  that  only  $15,000,000  U.  S.  legal  tender  Treasury 
notes  be  issued  in  lieu  of  $200,000,000  U.  S.  notes  recommended 
to  be  issued  by  Ex-President  Jefferson.  Had  such  money  been 
issued  relief  would  have  been  in  short  order. 


14 

BATTLE  OP  NEW  ORLEANS. 

On  the  8th  of  January,  1815,  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans  was 
fought  upon  the  Plains  of  Chalmette,  just  below  the  City  of  New 
Orleans.  Major-General  Andrew  Jackson  commanded  the 
American  army  and  General  Sir  Richard  Packingham  that  of  the 
British,  whose  forces  were  completely  routed.  My  father,  Jona- 
than Gillmore,  volunteered  and  served  in  a  regiment  under  com- 
mand of  Brigadier-General  David  Bird  Morgan  of  the  army  of 
General  Jackson.  The  war  ceased  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  on  the  loth  of  February,   1815. 

STATE  BANKS. 

The  number  of  State  Banks  in  1815  had  increased  to  208, 
notwithstanding  the  continued  failures.  Matters  had  reached  a 
very  serious  condition.  The  banks  would  not  receive  the  bank 
notes  issued  by  one  another, 

BANK  NOTE  CIRCULATION. 

On  January  1st,  1816,  the  State  Bank  note  circulation 
amounted  to  $110,000,000,  and  246  State  Banks^  were  doing 
business,  but  not  paying  specie. 

STATE  BANK  NOTE  DISCOUNT. 

On  January  1st,  1816,  the  discount  rate  on  State  Bank  notes 
for  oij^jie  was  reported  as  follows: 

Washington  City 22  per  cent,  discount 

Baltimore     22     " 

Philadelphia    18     " 

New  York  City 10     " 

Charleston,  S.  C 7     " 

New   England 2     " 

The  bank  notes  of  banks  located  at  a  distance  from  business 
centers  ranged  at  10  to  40  per  cent,  discount. 

STATE  BANK  FAILURES. 

During  the  period  of  1813  to  1816  no  less  than  240  State 
Banks  suspended  payment,  many  were  complete  wrecks,  showing 
a  shocking  financial  system  that  caused  a  most  frightful  con- 
traction of  the  circulation  at  a  time  when  a  large  increase  in  the 
volume  of  good  Government  legal  tender  United  States  notes  was 
greatly  needed  to  maintain  prosperity.  The  specie  basis  system 
was  a  fraud  and  delusion.  There  were  too  many  attorneys  in  the 
halls  of  Congress,  acting  for  the  banks  in  lieu  of  the  masses  of 
the  people. 

COTTON  MANUFACTURED. 

In  1815  about  90,000  bales  of  cotton  were  manufactured  into 
81,000,000  yards  of  cloth.  There  was  a  very  great  demand  for 
good  money  to  build  machinery  and  factories,  but  the  only  supply 
to  be  had  was  worthless  bank  notes  (rags,  as  they  were  called  by 
the  people),  "Wild  Cat"  bank  notes,  that  is,  bank  notes  of  no 
known  domicile,  were  forced  on  the  ignorant.  Also,  counter- 
feits were  being  circulated  among  those  not  posted.  Conditions 
were  really  horrible.  Yet  many  of  the  lawyers  in  Congress  would 
not  consent  to  the  issue  of  United  States  legal  tender  notes.  The 
moment  a  discussion  arose  upon  the  subject,  the  attorneys  would 


15 

begin  with  ai_tirade  against  the  tariff,  Continentai  currency  or  the 
Assignats  issued'by  France. 

UNITED  STATES  BANK. 

Congress,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1816,  chartered  the  "United 
States  Bank"  for  20  years;  capital  stock,  $35,000,000.  The 
Government  subscribed  to  one-half  of  the  stock;  25  directors,  5 
to  be  appointed  by  the  President.  The  Bank  to  receive  deposits 
of  Government  funds.  The  Bank  notes  to  be  received  for  Govern- 
ment dues.  Many  of  the  lawyers  in  Congress  bitterly  opposed  the 
chartering  of  the  United  States  Bank,  being  attorneys  of  the  State 
Banks.  The  United  States  Bank  opened  for  business  on  the  7th 
of  January,  1S17. 

JAMES  MONROE. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1817,  James  Monroe  was  inaugurated 
President.  Conditions  generally  had  improved  through  the  in- 
creased volume  of  the  circulation.  The  tFnited  States  Bank  was 
a  great  improvement  over  the  State  Bank  currency.  But  Govern- 
ment legal  tender  treasury  notes  would  have  been  a  Godsend  to 
the  great  masses.  About  $200,000,000,  as  recommended  by  Jeffer- 
son, of  such  currency,  would  have  been  a  blessing  and  made  all 
the  people  contented  and  very  happy. 

STATE  BANKS  RESUMPTION. 

In  1818  a  number  of  State  Banks  resumed  payment,  causing 
conditions  to  improve. 

STATE  BANK  NOTES. 

In  1819  the  bank  note  circulation  of  the  State  Banks  was 
reduced  from  $110,000,000  in  1816  to  about  $65,000,000  in  1819, 
causing  a  most  frightful  contraction  of  the  circulation  and  doing 
great  injury  to  the  people. 

O.  RAGNET. 

C.  Ragnet,  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  reported  on  January  29th,  1820,  on  causes  and  ex- 
tent of  distress  as  follows: 

"A  general  scarcity  of  money  throughout  tne  country,  which 
renders  it  impossible  for  the  husbandman,  or  other  owners  of  real 
estate,  to  borrow  even  at  a  usurious  interest,  when  landed  security 
of  the  most  indubitable  character  is  offered  as  a  pledge.  A  general 
suspension  of  large  manufacturing  operations  and  general  suspen- 
sion of  labor  and  a  stagnation  of  business,  which  is  limited 
to  the  mere  purchases  and  sale  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Over- 
flowing of  our  prisons  with  insolvent  debtors,  most  of  whom  are 
confined  for  trifling  sums."  It  is  a  lengthy  report  and  gives  a 
frightful  statement  of  conditions. 

The  United  States  Bank  and  the  great  number  of  State  Banks 
were  not  successful  in  increasing  the  needed  circulation.  The 
Government  only  could  place  in  circulation  the  ample  volume  of 
money  needed  by  the  people  to  carry  on  their  vast  industries,  but 
the  greater  number  of  the  attorneys  of  the  banks  in  Congress 
would  not  consent,  consequently  the  great  masses  of  the  people 
were  forced  to  suffer. 


16 

THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 

Senator  Benton  should  have  urged  upon  Congress  the  enact- 
1820  were  a  period  of  gloom  and  agony — no  money,  either  gold 
or  silver.  The  local  banks,  all  but  those  of  New  England,  after 
a  brief  resumption  of  specie  payments,  again  sank  into  a  state 
of  suspension.  No  price  for  property  or  produce.  No  employment 
for  industry.  No  demand  for  labor.  No  sound  of  the  hammer. 
No  medium  of  exchange  but  depreciated  paper;  no  change  even, 
but  little  bits  of  foul  paper,  marked  so  many  cents,  and  signed 
by  some  tradesman,  baker  or  innkeeper.  Distress  the  universal 
cry  of  the  people;  relief,  the  universal  demand,  thundered  at  the 
doors  of  all  legislatures.  State  and  Federal." 

Senator  Benton  should  have  urged  upon  Congress  the  enact- 
ment of  a  law  to  create  and  pla«e  in  circulation,  through  making 
internal  improvements  and  thus  employing  the  idle  people,  $2  00,- 
000,000  in  United  States  legal  tender  notes,  say  about  $20  per 
capita.  It  would  have  set  the  wheels  of  industry  rapidly  in 
motion  for  the  10,000,000  population,  which  would  have  afforded 
immediate  relief  and  made  the  people  very  contented  and  happy. 
But  Benton  was  a  "hard  money  man,"  and  ias  the  specie  was  very 
limited,  not  even  adequate  for  reserves  for  deposits  or  basis  for 
bank  note  circulation,  he  did  nothing  more  than  cry  out  against 
issues  of  legal  tender  United  States  notes,  being  always  frightened 
at  the  shadow  of  Continental  currency,  which  was  not  a  legal 
tender  but  made  redeemable  in  "Spanish  milled  dollars,"  of  which 
only  a  very  limited  sum  was  to  be  found,  and  which  currency  the 
wise  Franklin  denounced,  declaring  that  only  legal  tender  notes 
should  be  issued.  But  bad  as  the  Continental  currency  was,  it 
gained  freedom  for  the  people. 

ASSIGNATS. 

Many  people  denounce  the  Assignat  paper  currency  issued 
by  the  Government  of  France,  but  it  worked  wonderfully  well  for 
the  great  masses  of  the  French  people.  At  the  time  of  the  re- 
bellion, after  the  execution  of  King  Louis  XVI,  there  were  only 
about  30,000  landed  proprietors  in  all  France,  the  land  being 
owned  by  the  nobles  and  the  clergy.  The  Government  of  France 
had  confiscated  the  lands  and  made  the  Assignats  receivable  in. 
payment  for  the  confiscated  lands.  The  consequence  was  that 
near  five  million  persons  purchased  rapidly  of  the  land,  and  thus 
such  a  large  number  became  land  owners  that  they  could  not  be 
dispossessed  of  their  property,  and  ever  since  have  stood  loyally 
for  their  country.  But  eventually  through  counterfeits  issued  at 
the  instigation  of  the  British  Government,  it  ceased  to  be  of 
value.  No  true  lover  of  liberty  should  ever  decry  the  Continental 
currency  nor  the  Assignats. 

GOVERNMENT  DEPOSITS. 

The  funds  of  the  Government  were  deposited  by  Mr.  Craw- 
ford, Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  State  Banks,  to  help 
them  in  their  great  need,  being  in  a  critical  position. 

JAMES  MONROE. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1821,  James  Monroe  was  inaugurated 
President  for  a  second  term.  A  general  complaint  of  bad  con- 
ditions prevailed,  judging  from  statements  made  both  out  and  in 
Congress. 


17 

HENRY  CLAY. 

During  the  session  of  Congress  in  1823,  Henry  Clay,  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  a  lengthy  speech 
upon  the  tariff,  said:  "This  distress  pervades  every  part  of  the 
Union,  every  class  of  society.  All  feel  it.  It  is  most  painful  to  me 
to  attempt  to  sketch  or  to  dwell  upon  the  gloom  of  this  picture. 
But  I  have  exaggerated  nothing.  Perfect  fidelity  to  the  original' 
would  have  authorized  me  to  have  thrown  on  deeper  and  darker 
hues." 

Mr.  Clay  was  a  leading  lawyer  and  pleader  for  the  United 
States  Bank,  but  in  lieu  of  discussing  relief  for  the  people  through 
the  only  possible  means,  an  honest,  just  and  generous  financial 
system  for  the  Government,  and  issuing  ample  legal  tender  U.  S. 
notes,  to  maintain  the  people  in  prosperity,  he  was  blinding  them 
with  a  speech  upon  the  worn  out  tariff,  which  never  can  or  will  be 
settled,  except  by  a  commission.  There  are  too  many  lawyers  in 
Congress  employed  by  interested  parties  pro  and  con,  to  ever  have 
it  settled  otherwise.  Give  the  people  an  honest  financial  system 
and  the  country  will  grow  rapidly  in  wealth  and  they  be  made 
happy. 

NEW  STATE  BANKS 

In  1821  some  40  State  Banks  were  chartered  by  the  State 
of  Ohio,  and  44  by  the  State  of  Kentucky. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

Having  been  elected  by  the  House  of  Representatives.  John 
Quincy  Adams  was,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1825,  inaugurated 
President.  He  was  very  conservative  in  his  views,  and  did  not 
seem  to  take  with  the  people,  and  conditions  throughout  his  term 
remained  about  the  same.  They  wanted  a  more  active  man  for 
a  leader. 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1829,  Andrew  Jackson  was  inaugurated 
President.  In  his  first  message  "he  questioned  the  constitution- 
ality and  expediency  of  renewing  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  that  it  had  failed  in  the  great  end  of  establishing 
a  uniform  and  sound  currency."#He  further  said,  "I  submit  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  Legislature  whether  a  National  one  founded 
upon  the  credit  of  the  Government  and  its  revenues  might  not 
be  desirable,  which  would  avoid  all  constitutional  difficulties,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  secure  all  the  advantages  to  the  government 
that  were  expected  from  the  present  bank." 

UNITED  STATES  BANK. 

Nicholas  Biddle,  with  others,  made  an  application  for  a 
charter  for  a  United  States  Bank  through  Senators  Henry  Clay 
and  Daniel  Webster,  Attorneys  for  the  Bank. 

President  Jeckson  objected  to  foreigners  being  permitted 
to  become  stockholders.  Attorneys  Clay  and  Webster  were  very 
bitter  against  President  Jackson,  and  denounced  the  President  in 
unmeasured  terms.  The  lawyers  in  Congress  were  sorely  divided, 
about  one-half  of  them  favoring  the  United  States  Bank  and  the 
other  half  holding  out  for  the  State  Banks,  as  they  wanted  to 
continue  in  the  House. 


18 
VICKSBURG,  MISSISSIPPI. 

In  1828  my  father  sold  to  his  partner,  Jesse  R.  Jones,  his 
business  at  Covington,  Louisiana,  and  in  the  summer  of  1829 
moved  to  New  Orleans,  and  there  with  the  family  took  the  small 
stern  wheel  steamboat  named  "The  Walk  in  the  Water,"  Captain 
Henry  S.  Buckner  commandiijig,  arriving  at  Vicksburg  after  a 
tedious  and  long  trip  (now  made  in  12  hours).  He  immediately 
bought  a  large  lot  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Locust  streets,  and 
had  constructed  thereon  a  two-story  brick  buildmg,  of  which  he 
occupied  the  second  story  for  the  home  and  the  ground  floor  for 
his  general  merchandise  business,  taking  in  partnership  with  him. 
Miles  C.  Fowlks.  At  that  time  Vicksburg  was  quite  a  lively  place. 
Cotton  was  raised  and  hauled  to  town  upon  ox  and  horse  teams 
from  all  that  section  as  far  east  as  Pearl  River,  and  it  met  with 
ready  sale.  In  1834  my  father  sold  out  to  his  partner.  In  the 
meantime  he  had  constructed  a  large  store  building,  and  adjoining 
a  large  warehouse,  where  he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  steam- 
boat trade,  in  partnership  with  Elias  Bruner  and  W.  J.  Boyce. 
About  that  time  many  steam  boats  were  being  built  to  ply  between 
New  Orleans  and  up  river  towns,  always  stopping  for  passengers 
and  cotton.  Also,  many  flat  boats  were  built  on  the  upper  rivers 
and  brought  down  loads  of  pork,  corn,  flour  and  other  produce, 
always  making  a  stop  at  Vicksburg,  which  city  grew  rapidly, 
and  a  very  large  business  was  done.  At  that  time  there  were 
four  banks,  the  Commercial  Bank,  J.  L.  Riddle,  President,  and 
Wm.  L.  Grayson,  Cashier,  occupying  a  very  handsome  building, 
corner  Main  and  Locust  streets,  just  opposite  our  home.  The 
Bank  of  Vicksburg,  Wm.  F.  Markham,  Cashier,  The  Water  Works 
Bank,  and  a  branch  of  the  Planters  Bank.  There  were  several 
handsome  brick  churches,  three  newspapers,  "The  Whig,"  edited 
by  Wm.  Shannon,  "The  Sentinel,"  a  Democratic  paper  by  James 
Hagen,  and  "The  Financier,"  by  Wright  &  Hagen;  a  theater,  a 
large  iron  foundry  owned  by  Wm.  H.  Sims,  and  operated  by  a  large 
force,  an  extensive  brick  yard  owned  by  Wm.  and  John  Bobbs,  a 
large  saw  mill,  also  a  very  large  number  of  very  handsome  two- 
story  brick  residences. 

In  1836  my  fatehr  sold  out  his  business  to  his  partners, 
Bruner  &  Boyce,  who  were  doing  a  very  large  business.  Those 
were  pretty  flush  times.  The  Sliite  Banks  had  a  large  circulation 
of  bank  notes,  which  were  not  hoarded  but  spent  very  liberally. 

TWO  SHIPS. 

In  1836,  two  ships  loaded  in  England  with  railroad  iron, 
were  towed  up  to  the  City  of  Vicksburg  and  unloaded  at  the 
wharf,  destined  for  the  building  of  the  road  to  Jackson.  Many 
Irishmen  just  arrived  from  the  old  country  were  employed  to 
work  grading  the  roadbed.  A  great  sight  to  see  railroad  building 
those  days.  I  witnessed  the  first  railroad  accident,  by  two  cars 
becoming  uncoupled  and  running  down  the  grade  at  the  levee, 
and  jamming  against  other  cars  loaded  with  iron,  which  bent 
the  iron  nearly  double. 

THE  CIRCUIiATION. 

In  May,  1832,  the  amount  of  money  reported  in  circulation 
was  as  follows: 


19 

U.  S.  Bank  Notes $21,044,415 

Specie  in  U.  S.  Bank 7,890,347 

State  Bank  Notes 59,000,000 

Specie  in   State  Banks 12,110,000 

Total $100,044,762 

SUSPENSION  COINAGE  SILVER  DOLLARS. 

President  Jackson  in  1836,  finding  that  the  silver  dollars 
had  been  largely  exported,  also  fractional  silver  coins  very  scarce, 
directed  the  suspension  of  the  further  coinage  of  the  Silver  Dollar. 

POPULATION. 

The  population  then  was  estimated  at  14,000,000,  a  far  to 
small  circulation  for  the  people,  as  their  wealth  was  growing 
rapidly.  It  should  have  been  increased  to  $200,000,000.  But 
the  financial  system  of  bank  note  circulation  was  extremely  bad. 

In  1832  Congress  passed  a  bill  to  charter  the  United  States 
Bank,  which  President  Jackson  vetoed  on  the  10th  of  July,  1832. 
This  ended  the  fight  with  Nicholas  Biddle,  president  of  the  bank. 

ANDREW  JACIvSOiV. 

On  the  4th  of- March,  1833,  Andrew  Jackson  was  inaugurated 
President  for  a  second  term,  and  in  an  investigation  of  the  affairs 
of  the  United  States  Bank  ordered  by  President  Jackson,  it  was 
found  that  70  Members  of  Congress,  20  being  in  the  Senate  and 
50  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  were  indebted  $450,000  to 
the  United  States  Bank,  a  horrible  condition.  (See  Vol.  1,  p. 
415    Benton's   Review.) 

During  this  second  administration,  there  was  a  continuous 
fight  between  President  Jackson  and  the  State  Banks,  who  were 
represented  mostly  by  the  lawyers.  The  fight  was  very  bitter, 
but  the  banks  were  always  ahead. 

My  father  always  favored  the  United  States  Bank,  saying 
he  could  use  the  bank  notes  of  the  United  States  Bank  for  ex- 
change, to  send  away  to  make  settlements,  while  the  State  Banks 
were  continually  failing  and  their  bank  notes  nt.  a  discount  or 
worthless.  In  those  days  business  was  nearly  all  the  time  done 
at  great  disadvantage,  but  taking  everything  into  consideration, 
the  two  administrations  of  President  Jackson  proved  a  success, 
as  he  left  the  Government  out  of  debt,  and  a  considerable  fund 
in  the  Treasury. 

SECRETARY  INGHAM. 

Mr.  Ingham,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  differed  with  Presi- 
dent Jackson,  and  in  March,  1833,  wrote  thusly:  "The  Bank  of 
the  United  States  has  purified  one  of  the  worst  currencies  that 
ever  infested  any  country  or  people.  It  consisted  of  mere  paper, 
of  no  definite  value,  accompanied  by  worthless  tickets,  issued  from 
broken  banks,  petty  corporations,  and  partnerships  in  almost  every 
village.  Instead  of  this  (this,  the  U.  S.  Bank)  it  has  given  us 
the  best  currency  known  among  nations.  It  supplies  a  medium 
equal  in  value  to  gold  and  silver  in  every  part  of  the  Union." 
Secretary  Ingham  having  refused  to  remove  the  government  funds 
from  the  United  States  Bank,  had  to  step  down  and  out,  when 
President  Jackson  appointed  Roger  Taney  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  who  caused  the  government  funds  to  be  removed  from 
the  United  States  Bank  to  the  State  Banks. 


20 
COINAGE  LAW  AMENDED. 

Under  the  coinage  law  enacted  1792,  the  gold  dollar  con- 
tained 27  grains  standard  gold  ll-12ths  fine.  On  the  28th  of 
June,  1834,  and  in  1837,  Congress  amended  the  law  and  reduced 
the  quantity  of  gold  in  the  dollar  from  27  grains  standard  gold 
to  25.8  grains  standard  gold  9-lOths  fine.  In  regard  to  the  silver 
coinage,  the  law  of  1792  made  371  ^4  grains  pure  silver  or  416 
grains  standard  silver  to  the  dollar.  The  law  of  1834  made  a 
change  leaving  still  371%,  grains  pure  silver  but  reduced  the  alloy, 
making  412 1/^  grains  standard  silver  9-lOths  fine,  one  dollar. 
Virtually  no  change  was  made  in  the  pure  silver  from  15  to  1 
to  16  to  1,  only  the  ratio  was  changed. 

GOLD  COINED. 

From  1792  to  1835,  $11,825,890  gold  was  coined  at  the  mint. 

GENERAL  JACIiSON. 

In  1835  General  Jackson  visited  New  Orleans  and  on  his 
way  down  the  river  stopped  over  at  Vicksburg  and  was  received 
by  W.  H.  Gwin,  then  United  States  Marshal,  who  invited  all  the 
people  to  call.  My  father  went  and  I  with  him,  and  had  the  grati- 
fication to  see  and  shake  hands  with  General  Jackson,  who  was 
looking  rather  feeble.  Mr.  Gwin  in  after  years  moved  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  was  elected  United  States  Senator. 

NEW  BANKS. 

Many  new  State  Banks  were  organized  and  chartered  through- 
out the  country,  and  flooded  all  sections  with  their  bank  notes. 

STATE  BANKS. 

Senator  Benton  reported  that  in  1836,  six  banks  were  chartered 
for  the  District  of  Columbia,  with  $2,250,000  bank  note  circula- 
tion, and  about  800  State  Banks  in  operation  in  every  section  of 
the  country,  and  being  received  by  the  Federal  Government  Treas- 
ury. 

STATE  BANK  REPORT. 

Report  of  State  Banks,  January,  1836,  as  follows: 

Loans    $525,115,702 

Circulation. 

Bank  Notes    $750,000,000 

Specie 30,000,000 

Total $780,000,000 

Estimated   Specie  in   General 

Circulation     30,000,000 

Total     $810,000,000 

SHIN  PLASTERS. 

Fractional  silver  coin  being  very  scarce,  municipal  corpora- 
tions issued  fractional  currency,  and  business  people  put  out 
what  was  called  "shin  plasters,"  redeemable  on  presentation  in 
sums  of  $5.00. 


21 

PROSPEROUS    CONDITION. 

Real  estate  sold  readily  at  good  prices.  My  father,  Jonathan 
Glllmore,  was  offered  by  a  Mr.  Green  from  Philadelphia,  and 
refused  $100,000  for  some  1000  acres  cultivated  in  cotton  four- 
teen miles  below  Vicksburg  on  the  river,  without  the  negroes. 
There  was  a  great  deal  of  building  going  on  in  every  section, 
and  debts  were  paid  promptly. 

WAGES  AND  SALARIES. 

Wages  were  liberal,  carpenters  $3.50  to  $4.00  per  day; 
clerks,  $75  to  $200  per  month,  the  latter  for  good  bookkeepers. 
My  father  paid  at  the  rate  of  $3,000  per  annum  for  his  book- 
keeper, named  Stepehn  M.  Lee  from  Bangor,  Me.  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel  were  paid  from  $2,000  to  $5,000  per  annum,  and  a 
rectory  furnished,  and  at  times  a  carriage. 

Bonds  of  States,  Cities  and  Counties  sold  readily  at  par  or 
a   premium. 

PRICES  FOR  PRODUCE. 

In  New  York  City  in  November,  183  6,  prices  were  as  follows: 

Cotton,  g.  o.   per  pound 18 

Sugar,  La.,  brown,  per  pound 08 

Tobacco,  Va.,  leaf,  per  pound 09 

Wheat,  choice,  per  bushel $   1.90 

Flour,    choice    family,    per    bushel....    10.00 
(See  N.   Y.   Journal  of  Commerce). 

GOVERNMENT  OUT  OF  DEBT. 

In  1835,  the  Government  had  paid  all  indebtedness,  and  had/v 
funds  on  deposit  with  the  State  Banks  to  the  amount  of  about 
$40,000,000.       5~J  i^'^.^S^,    ■ 

DONATION  TO  STATES. 

Congress,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1836,  enacted  a  law  donating 
to  the  states  pro  rata,  the  sum  of  $37,468,856,  payable  quarterly, 
beginning  on  the  1st  of  October,  1836,  say,  $9,367,214  per 
quarter. 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

On  March  4,  1837,  Martin  Van  Buren  (Sage  of  Kinderhook) 
was  inaugurated  president  of  the  United  States;  who,  finding 
the  financial  matters  of  the  country  in  an  alarming  condition, 

SPECIE  EXPORTED.  -^ 

Caused  by  the  loss  of  their  specie  basis  from  the  State  Banks, 
the  gold  and  silver  money  having  been  nearly  all  exported  to 
Europe  to  pay  for  foreign  products  which  the  people  greatly 
needed.  The  manufactories  in  our  country  were  very  limited, 
owing  to  the  very  inadequate  supply  of  money  to  build  them. 
Hence  the  importation  of  foreign  products  and  exportation  of  our 
silver  and  gold  money  to  pay  for  them.  Had  our  government 
kept  in  the  channels  of  trade  an  adequate  supply  of  United  States 
notes  (commonly  called  greenbacks),  the  people  would  have 
built  factories,  made  their  own  products,  and  largely  dispensed 
with  those  of  foreign  countries.  Our  government  has  up  to  the 
present  continued  following  the  same  ruinous  policy  by  keeping 
a  totally  inadequate  supply  of  good  money  in  circulation  for  the 
uses  of  the  people,  to  enable  them  to  carry  on  successfully  their 


vast  internal  trade;  also,  to  build  factories  and  largely  dispense 
with  the  importation  of  foreign  products,  thus  saving  our  gold 
and  silver  money  from  being  exported  to  pay  for  them. 

\  CIRCULATION  DECREASING.      . 

-"^^  Money  decreasing  and  population  increasing.  Yet  the  peo- 
ple, heeded  not  these  loud  warnings,  nor  seemed  to  realize  their 
perilous  situation,  rhe  reckless  conditions  continued  and  a  heavy 
crash  came — "Sauve  qui  pent." 

What  specie  was  not  exported  the  misers  hoarded,  making 
conditions  for  the  banks  go  from  bad  to  worse. 

DISASTROUS   FINANCIAL  PANIC   OF   1837. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1837,  the  report  of  the  failure  of  the 
banks  was  being  given  from  all  sections,  only  three  in  New  York 
City  holding  out.  The  wreckage  was  frightful.  It  came  like  a 
thunderbolt  in  a  clear  sky,  and  was  soon  appalling  to  the  people. 


X 


NO  MONEY 

Senator  Thomas  Hart  Benton  said,  "The  spectacle  of  a  Gov- 
ernment waking  up  in  the  morning  of  11th  of  May,  1837,  without 
a  dollar  to  pay  the  day  laborer  with.  The  banks  having  suspended 
the  day  before.  Such  of  the  banks  that  kept  open  their  doors 
could  only  pay  in  depreciated  bank  notes  of  very  doubtful  specie 
value." 

EXTRA  SESSION. 

President  Van  Buren  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress  to 
convene  in  September,  to  consider  the  condition  of  the  country. 

LAWYERS  IN  CONGRESS. 

Among  the  most  prominent  members  in  the  Senate  were 
James  Buchanan,  Franklin  Pierce  (afterwards  both  were  elected 
to  and  served  in  the  oiaace  of  President),  Thomas  H.  Benton,  John 
C.  Calhoun,  Wm.  Allen,  Silas  Wright,  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster, 
Robert  J.  Walker,  John  Davis  and  R.  H.  Bayard,  all  leading  law- 
yers. Those  in  the  House  of  Representatives  were  John  Quincy 
Adams,  an  Ex-President,  James  K.  Polk  and  Millard  Fillmore 
(who  afterwards  filled  the  office  of  President),  John  M.  Bell,  John 
Seargent,  James  Harlan,  Thomas  Corwin,  Caleb  Cushing,  James 
Graham,  Isaac  Toucey,  Wm.  Cost  Johnson,  Waddy  Thompson  and 
Henry  A.  Wise,  all  leading  lawyers  and  very  prominent  politicians. 

^After  the  failure  of  the  banks,  matters  grew  from  bad  to 

worse,  and  there  was  a  heavy  falling  off  in  the  revenues  of  the 
government. 

GOVERNMENT  BONDS. 

The  government  was  unable  to  sell  bonds  or  borrow  money. 
There  was  no  other  way  to  pay  its  expenses  than  by  an  issue  of 
Treasury  notes.  Yet  many  members  of  Congress  opposed  the 
measure,  especially  those  representing  the  banks. 

TREASURY  NOTES. 

Therefore,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  government,  Congress  on 
12th  of  October,  1837,  directed  the  treasurer  to  issue  $10,000,000 
in  treasury  notes;  to  be  in  denominations  of  not  less  than  $50, 
to  be  receivable  for  all  debts  to  the  government,  to  bear  such  in- 
terest as  the  treasurer  might  fix  (which  he  fixed  at  one  mill  per 


23  ' 

annum),  and  to  be  cancelled  on  receipt  back  into  the  treasury. 
Those  treasury  notes  were  very  ingeniously  made  as  undesirable 
as  money  for  circulation  among  the  people  could  possibly  be  made. 

JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

John  C.  Calhoun  in  a  speech  in  the  Senate  upon  the  bill  said, 
"No  one  can  doubt  but  that  the  government  credit  is  better  than 
that  of  any  bank;  nore  reliable,  more  safe.  Why  then  should  it 
mix  it  up  with  the  less  perfect  credit  of  those  institutions.  We  are 
told  the  form  I  suggested  is  but  the  repetition  of  the  'old  conti- 
nental money,'  a  ghost  that  is  ever  conjured  up  by  all  who  wish 
to  give  the  banks  an  exclusive  monopoly  of  government  credit. 
The  assertion  is  not  true.  There  is  not  the  least  analogy  between 
them,  the  one  is  a  promise  to  pay  when  there  is  no  money,  and 
the  other  to  receive  in  the  dues  of  the  government  when  there  is 
an  abundant  revenue."  ^ 

CONTRACTING  THE  CIRCULATION.  A, 

The  Treasury  notes  issued  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment, were  paid  back  into  the  Treasury  for  lands  and  custom  duties 
as  fast  as  issued  and  then  cancelled.  Thus  the  people  who  were 
sorely  in  need  of  a  large  volume  of  good  money,  to  carry  on  their 
vast  and  rapidly  growing  industries,  were  afforded  only  a  tem- 
porary use  of  this  makeshift. 

BANK  NOTES. 

Bank  notes  were  very  undesirable  on  account  of  fluctuation 
in  value,  liability  to  be  counterfeited,  and  when  taken  to  other 
states  than  where  issued  met  heavy  loss  from  discount  under  the 
bank  notes  of  such  state.  Also  from  general  distrust,  want  of 
confidence  in  the  banks,  and  their  dependence  upon  specie  for 
redemption,  of  bank  notes  and  bank  deposits. 

GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

The  gold  and  silver  money  in  the  country  was  very  limited 
and  entirely  inadequate,  besides  could  not  be  increased. 

A   MOCKERY. 

Treasury  notes  were  the  only  money  that  our  government 
could  create  and  make  immediately  available  and  in  adequate 
volume  for  the  wants  of  the  suffering  people.  The  people  had  the 
utmost  confidence  in  the  government  money.  Yet  every  obstacle 
was  placed  in  the  way  of  the  treasury  note  being  issued  and 
made  one  of  the  permanent  and  servicable  moneys  for  the  people. 
They  were  restricted  to  the  use  of  treasury  notes  to  be  issued  in 
denominations  of  not  less  than  $50,  and  to  be  destroyed  when 
paid  back  into  the  treasury — a  mockery. 

REGULAR  SESSION  1838. 

Just  as  fast  as  the  treasury  notes  were  destroyed  when  paid 
back  into  the  treasury,  the  times  grew  from  bad  to  worse  and  the 
suffering  of  the  people  increased.  Also,  the  revenues  of  the  gov- 
ernment continued  to  fall  off. 

GOVERNMENT  DEPOSITS. 

The  government  deposits  of  about  $40,000,000  in  the  banks 
were  unavailable,  as  the  government  could  not  use  depreciated 
bank  notes  to  pay  its  expenses. 


24 
\ 
^  NO  SALE  FOR  BONDS. 

The  government  was  unable  to  sell  bonds  or  borrow  money. 
There  was  no  other  way  to  pay  its  expenses  than  by  an  issue  of 
Treasury  notes.  Yet  many  members  of  Congress  opposed  the 
measure,  especially  those  representing  the  banks. 

TREASURY   NOTES   AGAIN. 

Consequently  our  government  again  had  to  resort  to  the  use 
of  treasury  notes.  Congress  on  the  21st  of  May,  1838,  author- 
ized the  issue  of  $10,000,000  in  treasury  notes  to  be  in  denom- 
inations of  not  less  than  $50  and  to  be  destroyed  when  paid  back 
into  the  treasury.  Yes,  containing  the  same  obnoxious  conditions 
as  those  Treasury  notes  issued  in  October,  1837,  as  undesirable, 
unserviceable  and  as  temporary  for  the  uses  of  the  people  as  pos- 
sible. If  the  bankers  could  not  issue  the  paper  money,  then  they 
would  not  consent  that  the  people  should  have  other  than  the 
most  objectionable  that  could  be  issued.  They  failed  to  see  then, 
just  as  they  do  now,  that  by  preventing  the  people  from  having  an 
ample  supply  of  good  legal  tender  government  money,  they  were 
injuring  the  people  and  destroying  the  banks.  But  they  "killed 
the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  egg"  as  only  a  few  banks  ever  re- 
covered from  the  crash. 

I5ANK  ATTORNEY. 

Nearly  all  the  members  of  Congress  were  very  prominent 
lawyers,  with  a  sprinkling  of  bankers.  Congress  was  run  then, 
as  now,  by  the  attorneys  of  banks,  who  refused  to  have  issued 
only  undesirable  temporary  treasury  notes.  They  insisted  then,  as 
now,  that  banks  only  should  issue  the  paper  money  for  the  people. 
Yes,  bank  notes  that  are  not  and  cannot  be  made  a  legal  tender 
to  pay  debts,  and  their  value  to  be  maintained  by  a  coin  basis. 
When  the  coin  disappeared  by  exportation,  or  otherwise,  the  bank 
note  became  worthless.  Away  with  such  fraudulent  currency! 
The  people  have  too  often  suffered  the  pangs  of  poverty  from  such 
worthless  bank  issues. 

TARIFF. 

A  heated  discussion  arose  in  the  Senate  over  the  tariff  ques- 
tion, between  Henry  Clay  in  favor  of  a  high  tariff  or  extreme  pro- 
tection, and  Robert  J.  Walker  of  Mississippi,  for  low  tariff,  both 
declaring  that  all  the  ills  the  people  were  then  suffering  from  were 
caused  by  the  tariff;  that  if  the  question  could  be  settled  according 
to  their  respective  notions,  the  very  hard  times  would  cease  and 
the  ills  of  the  people  soon  blow  over. 

i  HUMBUGGING. 

\  Both  were  humbugging  the  people.     Congress  had  amended 

the  Tariff  law  about  20  times,  putting  it  up  or  down  with  the 
whims  of  the  attorney.  I  have  heard  the  tariff  discussed  by  the 
ablest  lawyers  since  my  boyhood,  and  I  am  convinced  that  it  can 
never  be  settled  satisfactorily,  except  through  a  commission  of  as 
nearly  disinterested  persons  as  possible. 

BUSINESS  MEN. 

Were  Congress  filled  with  business  men,  in  lieu  of  lawyers 
who  had  devoted  a  life  to  studying  technicalities,  to  aid  them  in 
freeing  criminals,  the  tariff  question,  also  the  financial  question, 


25 

could  be  readily  settled.  Such  men  as  Benjamin  Franklin,  Peter 
Cooper,  Pliny  Freeman,  John  Thompson,  Warwick  Martin,  Thomas 
J.  Durant,  and  other  able  and  practical  business  men. 

DEMOCRATIC  FAILURE. 

Both  Congress  and  President  Van  Buren  were  unwilling  to 
make  Treasury  notes  serviceable  to  the  people,  which  brought 
great  odium  upon  the  Democratic  party.  But  the  Democrats  still 
clung  to  Martin  Van  Buren  and  nominated  him  for  president  and 
Richard  M.  Johnsoh  for  vice-president. 

The  great  masses  of  the  people  were  alive  for  a  change.  The 
Whigs  at  the  National  convention  nominated  General  William 
Henry  Harrison  for  president  and  John  Tyler  for  vice-president. 
They  erected  wigwams  all  over  the  country  for  their  gatherings, 
where  their  orators  preached  the  doctrine  for  more  money.  Their 
famous  hurrah  was  "two  dollars  a  day  and  roast  beef  for  dinner 
for  the  working  man,"  most  of  whom  were  idle  and  their  wages 
very  low.  Immense  gatherings  were  held  at  which  fat  beeves 
were  barbecued  to  feed  the  multitude  and  hard  cider  was  doled 
out  to  the  thirsty.  The  writfii^eaiid_manyjoftheiT_or^^  none 
pleased  him  more  than~Sargent  S.  Prentiss"^  MlssissippF,  who"^as 
the  most  eloquent  and  humorous  of  all.  He  always  made  a  plea 
for  more  money.  Many  discontented  Democrats  drifted  into  the 
Whig  party.  In  November,  1840,  Harrison  and  Tyler  were  elected 
by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The  people  everywhere  rejoiced 
and  sang  the  song,  "Little  Van  is  a  used  up  man,"  and  they  hur- 
rahed for  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too." 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  Harrison  was  inaugurated  presi- 
dent, and  finding  the  country  still  in  a  most  deplorable  condition, 
he  called  a  special  session  of  Congress,  to  consider  measures  of 
relief  for  the  impoverished  people.  President  Harrison  died  on 
the  4th  of  April. 

JOHN  TYLER. 

John  Tyler  was  immediately  sworn  into  office  as  president, 
and  called  an  extra  session.  A  bill  chartering  a  joint  stock  com- 
pany with  $50,000,000  capital,  having  authority  to  issue  bank 
notes  based  on  coin,  called  "The  National  Bank,"  passed  both 
branches  of  Congress,  but  was  vetoed  by  President  Tyler,  who  rec- 
ommended an  issue  of  legal  tender  treasury  notes.  Congress  at- 
tempted to  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto,  but  failed,  which  action 
caused  a  wrangle  between  President  Tyler  and  a  majority  in  Con- 
gress, which  lasted  during  his  term. 

No  relief  came  to  the  people;  a  majority  of  Congress  was  for 
the  National  bank,  and  against  the  issue  of  treasury  notes  as  rec- 
ommended by  President  Tyler;  times  grew  harder  and  harder  all 
the  while  and  bankruptcy  became  general  all  over  the  land. 

BANKRUPT  LAW. 

Congress,  on  the  31st  of  August,  1841,  enacted  a  plain  and 
simple  bankrupt  law,  which  went  into  force  on  the  1st  of  Ferbu- 
ary,  1842,  and  out  of  existence  on  the  1st  of  March,  1843.  During 
the  thirteen  months  existence  of  this  memorable  bankrupt  law,  a 
large  majority  of  the  business  men  of  the  country  partook  of  its 
benefits,  which  enabled  them  to  begin  business  life  anew.     At  that 


/ 


26 

time  the  writer  and  several  others  were  engaged  in  the  office  of 
McCay  &  Mossy,  notaries,  at  42  Royal  street.  New  Orleans,  pro- 
testing notes  and  drafts  of  unfortunate*  merchants  for  the  Canal 
Bank  and  Merchants  Bank  of  that  city,  frequently  writing  all 
night. 

In  December,  1841,  President  Tyler  in  his  message  to  Con- 
gress, recommended  the  enactment  of  a  law  authorizing  the  issue 
of  non-interest-bearing  treasury  notes,  not  to  exceed  $15,000,000, 
to  be  made  redeemable  in  silver  and  gold  and  receivable  for  gov- 
ernment dues;  also,  the  issue  of  certificates  of  deposits  for  de- 
posits of  gold  and  silver;   but  Congress  failed  to  concur. 

The  Bank  of  the  United  States,  a  state  institution  with 
branches  throughout  the  country,  suspended  in  1841,  and  was  a 
complete  failure. 

QUOTATION  BANK  NOTES. 

Saturday,  February  9,  1839.  Prom  the  New  Orleans  "Ob- 
server:" 

Bank  of  Vicksburg 15  to  18  per  cent  discount. 

Vicksburb  Water  Works. 20  to  25   " 
I  copied  the  above  statement  from  the  "Vicksburg  Whig," 
that  paper  copied  from  the  "Observer." 

DEPRECIATION  IN  VALUE  OP  LAND. 

The  large  tract  of  land  located  on  the  Mississippi  river,  for 
which  my  father  was  offered  in  183  6,  $100,000,  was  sold  in  1841 
for  $5,000,  and  such  were  the  general  conditions  in  regard  to  real 
estate  everywhere. 

PENNSYLVANIA  HARD  UP. 

In  1841,  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  being  in  sore  straits  for 
money  to  pay  for  extensive  public  works,  put  under  construction 
to  give  employment  to  the  great  number  of  idle  workmen,  by  au- 
thority of  the  legislature  issued  "Relief  money,"  not  bearing  in- 
terest but  receivable  for  all  taxes  due  the  state,  which  currency 
passed  current  with  the  business  men  and  afforded  much  relief. 

INDIANA  DITTO. 

The  state  of  Indiana,  also,  being  greatly  in  need  of  money, 
issued  non-interest  bearing  warrants,  which  were  made  receivable 
for  taxes,  and  passed  current,  affording  great  relief  to  all.  It 
would  have  been  a  just,  wise  and  simple  transaction  had  our  gov- 
ernment issued  ample  legal  tender  money  and  loaned  it  to  the  re- 
spective states,  cities  and  counties,  upon  their  bonds  at  3  per  cent 
per  annum  interest,  to  make  improvements,  which  could  have  giveh 
full  employment  to  the  great  number  of  idle  people. 

The  population  was  all  the  while  increasing,  but  the  money 
supply  continued  contracted,  which  caused  the  continued  decline 
in  rents,  real  estate,  products,  salaries  and  wages,  forced  the  great 
masses  of  the  people  to  become  more  and  more  impoverished  and 
eventually  so  poor  that  very  many  could  neither  pay  rents,  inter- 
est nor  taxes.  Persons  who  had  loaned  money  on  country  and 
city  property  were  in  most  cases  forced  to  take  it  for  the  debt,  and 
such  property,  even  the  improved,  being  unproductive,  was  al- 
lowed to  be  -  sold  for  taxes.  State  and  municipal  governments 
failing  to  collect  taxes,  were  forced  to  default  in  paying  interest 
on  their  bonds.     The  holders  of  those  bonds  not  receiving  their 


27 

interest,  were  compelled  to  sell  them,  and  in  some  cases  at  a  very 
heavy  discount. 

NEW  ORLEANS. 

My  father  died  at  Vicksburg,  March   23,   1839.      In  March, 

1841,  I  went  to  New  Orleans  and  took  a  position  with  my  uncle, 
David  L.  McCay,  a  Notary  Public,  office  42  Royal  street.  I  was 
assigned  to  assist  with  the  protesting  at  the  Canal  Bank,  receiv- 
ing all  notes  and  drafts  left  over  unpaid  at  3  o'clock,  to  present 
to  the  drawers  and  if  not  paid  to  protest.  It  was  a  busy  time  pro- 
testing paper,  as  pretty  much  every  business  man  had  failed  and 
was  a  bankrupt. 

Congress  again  in  regular  session  met  in  1842,  and  passed  a 
bank  bill,  to  be  again  vetoed  by  President  Tyler,  who  again,  in  his 
message,  recommended  United  States  Government  legal  tender 
notes  to  the  extent  at  least  of  $15,000,000,  to  be  made  perman- 
ent currency.  He  said,  "It  would  add  to  the  available  means  to 
the  Treasury  without  cost  or  charge.  Great  beneficial  effects 
would  be  produced  in  aid  of  all  the  active  pursuits  of  life.  Its 
effects  upon  the  solvent  State  Banks  would  be  highly  beneficial." 

Henry  Clay  entered  Congress  in  1806,  and  resigned  in  March, 

1842.  He  was  a  briliant  orator,  a  great  friend  of  the  banks,  op- 
posed the  issuance  of  government  paper  money,  and  defended 
many  criminals  who  escaped  merited  punishment,  through  his 
wonderful  eloquence  and  his  great  knowledge  of  the  technicalities 
of  the  law.  I  frequently  met  Mr.  Clay  after  the  expiration  of  his 
term  as  Senator,  while  visiting  in  New  Orleans.  I  also  saw  at 
the  same  city  Mr.  Van  Buren,  after  his  term  was  out.  I  consid- 
ered him  exceedingly  vain  and  pompous  in  his  dress  and  appear- 
ance. 

In  the  summer  of  1842,  the  Consolidated  Association,  Union 
and  Citizens  banks,  which  had  struggled  along,  failed.  The  state 
of  Louisiana  had  largely  aided  those  banks.  Their  failure  very 
seriously  affected  the  sugar  and  cotton  planting  interests. 

Confidence  played  out,  credit  became  greatly  restricted,  which 
caused  a  heavy  demand  for  money,  but  it  was  not  to  be  had. 

HENRY    CLAY. 

In  the  United  States  Senate,  Henry  Clay  said:  "The  revul-. 
sion  produced  a  far  greater  havoc  than  was  experienced  in  the^ 
disastrous  financial  panic  of  1813  to  1816.  All  prices  fell  off 
ruinously;  production  was  greatly  diminished  and  in  many  de- 
partments practically  ceased;  thousands  of  workmen  were  idle, 
with  no  hope  of  employment,  and  their  families  suffering  from 
want.  Our  farmers  were  without  markets;  their  products  rotted 
in  their  barns;  their  lands,  teeming  with  rich  harvests,  were  sold 
by  the  sheriff  for  debts  and  taxes.  The  tariff  which  robbed  our 
industries  of  protection  failed  to  supply  the  government  with  nec- 
essary revenues.  The  national  treasury,  in  consequence,  was 
bankrupt,  and  the  credit  of  the  nation  very  low."  (Colton's  Life 
of  Henry  Clay). 


SENATOR  GALLINGER. 

Senator  Gallinger  attributed  the  hard  times  of  1842  to  th 
then  existing  low  tariff.  He  is  in  error.  It  was  not  tariff  that 
brought  the  ruin,  because  Congress  in  1842,  changed  the  low 
tariff  to  a  high  tariff  which  continued  in  force  until  184  6.     Yet 


J 


28 

the  hard  times  and  ruin  continued  on  into  the  Mexican  War, 
when  good  times  came  through  a  very  large  increase  of  money 
in  treasury  notes,  bank  notes  and  gold,  which  latter  came  after 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California. 

BOND  SALE. 

By  November,  1842,  bonds  of  the  states  named  below  had 
greatly  depreciated  and  sold  as  follows,  to-wit: 

New  York    at  80  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Pennsylvania    at  70  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Ohio    at  50  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Maryland    at  35  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Indiana     at  19  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Illinois    at  16  cents  on  the  dollar. 

(See  N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce,  or  Baltimore  American  of 
November,  1842). 

LOW   PRICE  OP  PRODUCE. 

In  New  York  City  about  same  date  wholesale  prices  were  as 
follows: 

Cotton,  g.  o.,  per  pound $    .07 

Sugar,   La.   brown,   per   pound 05 

Tobacco,  Va.  leaf,  per  pound 03 

Wheat,  choice,  per  bushel 85 

Flour,  choice  family,  per  barrel..      4.50 
(See  same  paper). 

Also,    farm    products   about   the   same   time    sold    from   the 
farmers'  wagons  in  the  towns  of  Ohio,  as  follows: 
Wheat  at  40  cents  per  bushel. 
Flour  at  $1  per  hundred  pounds. 

Dressed  hogs  at  $1.25  to  $1.75  per  hundred  pounds,  the  lat- 
ter price  for  extra  fat  hogs,  to  be  rendered  into  lard  oil  for  light- 
ing cities,  towns,  and  dewllings  (coal  oil  was  unknown  and  gas 
not  much  used). 

In  i\ew  Orleans,  whiskey  sold  from  the  flat  boats  in  dray  lots 
of  5  barrels,  at  12  cents  per  gallon.  Those  days  much  of  the 
whiskey,  bacon,  corn,  lard,  etc.,  was  carried  down  the  Mississippi 
river  in  flat  boats. 

SPECIE   BASIS. 

No  banking  law  can  be  made  safe  enough  to  secure  a  stable 
and  safe  bank  note  circulation  based  on  gold  and  silver  coin, 
to  save  the  people  from  loss  and  the  country  from  financial  panic. 

The  Union  Bank  and  the  Brandon  Bank  flooded  the  country 
with  their  worthless  bank  notes,  so  did  the  banks  in  Atabama, 
Arkansas,  Illinois  and  Ohio.  The  little  Ohio  river  town  of  Gal- 
lipolis  had  its  bank,  which  shipped  loads  of  bank  notes  down 
the   Ohio   and   Mississippi  valleys   for   distribution. 

The  bankers  of  Michigan  who  procured  chatrers  for  banks 
to  issue  bank  notes  in  183  5,  '36  and  '37,  did  it  by  stretching  the 
blanket,  in  making  one  box  of  silver  and  nine  boxes  of  nails  pre- 
sented to  the  auditor  do  full  duty.  The  box  of  silver  was  opened 
for  him  to  count.  He  would  say,  "no  use  in  opening  the  others; 
I  am  satisfied;  go  ahead  and  issue  your  bank  notes"  (based  on 
one  box  of  silver  and  nine  boxes- of  nails). 

There  has  always  been  feuds  among  the  bankers,  which  not 


29 

only  kept  themselves  but  the  people  also  in  hot  water.  The  war 
between  the  Suffolk  Bank  and  the  banks  of  Maine  and  other  New 
England  states  continued  for  years. 

JOHX  THOMPSON'S  BANK  NOTE  REPORTER. 

I  could  give  a  history  of  the  heathenish,  worthless  and  rot- 
ten banking  systems  that  our  people  had  to  conduct  their  busi- 
ness under  in  the  forties,  prior  to  the  greenbacks.  The  writer 
had  to  ponder  over  and  over  the  counterfeit  detector  issued  week- 
ly by  the  eminent  financier,  John  Thompson,  to  learn  of  the 
new  counterfeits  being  issued,  also  of  the  latest  failures  among 
the  banks. 

It  is  only  wily,  cunning  bankers  who  plead  the  privilege  of 
Issuing  bank  notes  backed  by  gold.  John  Thompson  and  other 
able  bankers,  who  were  familiar  with  the  old  rotten  system,  de- 
clared for  Government  notes. 

Banking  is  a  legitimate,  useful  and  honorable  business,  when 
conducted  in  a  straightforward  and  business  way.  All  banks 
should  be  confined  to  the  legitiamte  business  of  banking,  deposits, 
discount  and  exchange.  When  that  is  done  under  full  govern- 
ment supervision  for  the  full  protection  of  the  people,  there  will 
be  no  war  by  the  people  against  the  banks.  But  so  long  as  bank- 
ers contend  for  one  of  the  strongest  powers  of  the  government, 
that  is,  issuing  bank  notes,  the  war  will  continue  to  be  wage<i:  c  i 

GOVERNMENT  MONEY. 

The  government  only  should  issue  all  the  paper  money  as  well 
as  the  gold  and  silver  coin  and  minor  coin  for  the  use  of  the 
people.  Our  people  and  all  their  wealth  is  behind  the  govern- 
ment money. 

MARYLAND  BONDS. 

The  late  John  Hopkins,  founder  of  Jphn  H<)pkins  Unlversityi 
borrowed  money  in  Europe  in  1842,  and  bought  largely  of  Mary- 
land bonds  at  a  heavy  discount,  which  he  held  till  they  reached 
par.  Afterwards  he  invested  largely  in  stock  of  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  R.  R.  Co.,  which  at  his  death  he  willed  to  the  University.  In 
1889  this  stock  was  worth  about  $225  per  share.  In  Septem.l?er, 
1896,  it  was  quoted  on  the  stock  market  at  $13  per  share. 

BALTIMORE  &'te4b  STOCK. 

Speaking  of  B.  &  O.  stock  reminds  nae  of  tw6  predictions  I 
made  about  it.  At  Baltimore  in  Ig^'S.^tiil^  oh  business  in  the 
Peabody  Insurance  Co.,  I  said  t^o  i^r.^Thpinas  I.  Cary,  the  presi- 
dent, that  B,  &  O.  stock,  then  worth  $185  per  share,  would  not 
be  in  a  few  years  worth  half  that  suta,  which  result  came  by  1877, 
giving  as  my  reason  the  contraction  policy  that  hsld  bfeen  and 
was  then  going  on.  In  October,  1889,  at  the  same  place,  while  B. 
&  O.  stock  was  selling  at  $225  per' share,  1  predicted  to  Mr.  Cary, 
that  within  a  few  years  this  Stock  would  ^ell  for  less  than  par 
($100).  My  friend  laughed;' but  I  said  to  him,  that  like  causes 
produced  like  results,  that  contt-adtioh  of  the  nipney  volume  was 
again  at  its  destructive  work  as  it  w^s  In  1875.  The'  result  wai^ 
as  stated,  the  stock  was  sold  in  Sept^ber,  1896,  at  $13  per  share, 
caused  by  the  contraction  policy  of  President  Grover  Cleveland, 
who  brought  great  wreckage  to  the' country,  beginning  in  1893. 

Also,  James  G-arrett,  another  Baltimorean,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  an  immense  fortune  in  the  purchase  of  Indiana  bonds  at  a 


30 

heavy  discount.  He  refused  to  accept  the  scale  down  from  the 
face  value  made  by  the  state,  but  held  them  until  the  times  be- 
came prosperous,  when  he  received  the  principle  and  interest  in 
full.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  B,  &  O.  railroad  and  at  his  death 
left  an  immense  investment  in  this  stock  to  his  daughter,  Miss 
Mary  Garrett,  a  prominent  woman  of  Baltimore.  Yet  with  all  the 
warnings  of  wreckages  from  contraction,  that  has  occurred  in  our 
country  at  different  times,  the  bankers  of  Baltimore,  through  their 
associations,  have  declared  for  the  retirement  of  the  U.  S.  Notes, 
and  substitution  therefor  of  National  Bank  notes.  Also  for  the 
continued  suspension  of  the  coinage  of  silver.  Their  memory 
about  bankruptcy  with  its  ruin  is  short. 

INDIANA  BONDS. 

The  Rothschilds  also  were  heavy  holders  of  Indiana  State 
bonds,  and  refused  to  accept  the  low  scale  offered.  Their  agent, 
August  Belmont,  employed  James  Buchanan  as  attorney  in  the 
transaction,  who  secured  the  total  principal  and  interest  for  his 
clients.  Mr.  Buchanan  shortly  after  was  elected  President  and 
appointed  Mr.  August  Belmont  as  Minister  to  the  Netherlands. 

MONEY  VERY  SCARCE. 

Those  days  (1843)  there  was  very  little  money  in  circulation 
for  farming,  manufacturing,  steamboat,  ship,  store  and  house 
building. 

IDLENESS. 

Consequently  there  were  an  immense  number  of  idle  people, 
competition'  was  very  great,  and  salaries  and  wages  very  low. 
Bank  cashiers,  who,  in  1833  to  1836,  had  received  $2000  to  $3000 
per  annum,  were  reduced  in  1842  to  $600  to  $900  per  year;  clerks 
from  $75  to  $100  per  month  to  $15  to  $40,  and  carpenters  from 
$3.50  to  $4.00  per  day  to  65  to  75  cents  per  day.  The  most  odious 
laws  were  enacted  to  prevent  vagrancy,  without  avail.  The  idle 
were  marched  daily  in  gangs  before  magistrates  and  committed 
without  other  trial  than  the  judgment  of  the  magistrate,  to  six 
and  twelve  months  confinement  in  the  workhouse.  The  writer 
frequently  saw  in  New  Orleans  a  very  large  number  committed 
of  a  morning  to  the  workhouse  by  Recorder  Joshua  Baldwin. 

BREAD    RIOTS. 

Bread  riots  occurred  in  many  of  the  large  cities  and  only 
the  strong  arm  of  the  law  prevented  terrible  scenes. 

SPECIE  IMPORTS. 

In  1843  there  was  quite  a  heavy  importation  of  gold  and 
silver,  amounting  to  about  $21,000,000,  which  was  coined  that 
year  and  the  next,  which  aided  somewhat  in  reviving  banking 
interests  and  thus  afforded  the  suffering  people  a  little  more 
money,  which  gave  some  relief,  but  was  entirely  InsuflScient,  and 
the  times  still  continued  very  hard  and  there  were  still  great 
numbers  of  people  unable  to  procure  steady  work,  which  caused 
much  misery  and  great  discontent  to  prevail  among  the  masses. 

RIOTING. 

In  the  summer  of  1843  there  was  a  great  riot  in  New  Or- 
leans against  the   money  brokers    (called   "money  shavers"   and 


31 

their  offices  called  "shaving  shops").  An  immense  crowd  com- 
posed of  butchers,  bakers,  and  the  laboring  people  were  seen 
just  before  noon  emerging  from  Chatres  and  Ole  Levee  streets, 
crossing  Canal  street;  on  their  arrival  at  Camp  they  smashed  in 
the  bay  windows  of  the  money  brokers  and  scattered  the  notes  of 
the  broken  banks  and  gold  and  silver  coins  that  were  left  in 
them  to  catch  the  eye  of  the  passerby.  The  rioters  then  made 
for  the  City  bank,  but  before  they  had  effected  anything,  the 
military   arrived    on   the    ground    and    dispersed    the    mob. 

MONEY  BROKERS. 

The  money  shavers  were  charged  with  causing  the  deprecia- 
tion of  the  shinplasters  of  the  First,  Second  and  Third  munici- 
palities. The  writer  was  then  a  money  broker  on  Canal  street 
one  door  from  Camp;  afterwards  on  Camp,  and  from  1843  to 
1845  was  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  uncurrent  bank  notes, 
also  foreign  gold  and  silver  coins,  which  I  usually  had  coined 
at  the  U.  S.  Mint. 

PRESIDENT  TYLER. 

In  December,  1843,  President  Tyler  in  his  message  to  Con- 
gress again  recommended  the  issue  of  Treasury  notes,  and  urged 
their  issue:      "In   denominations  of  not  less  than   $5,   nor  more 
than  $100,  to  be  employed  in  payment  of  the  obligations  of  the  ^  / 
government,  in  lieu  of  gold  and  silver  at  the  option  of  the  pub-  / 
lie  creditor,  to  the  amount  of  $15,000,000."  / 

Also,  he  urged  it  "In  view  of  the  disordered  condition  of  the 
currency  and  the  high  rate  of  exchange  between  the  different 
parts  of  the  country."  He  stated  that  it  would  "save  the  country 
a  large  amount  of  interest,  while  it  affords  conveniences  and  obvi- 
ates dangers  and  expense  in  the  transmission  of  funds  to  disburs- 
ing agents."  Congress  was  then,  as  now,  dominated  over  by  the 
paid  attorneys  of  bankers,  who  refused  to  heed  the  words  of  wis- 
dom given  in  that  able  message.  President  Tvler  was  bitterly 
opposed  to  the  use  of  bank  notes,  knowing  the  frequent  and  heavy 
losses  the  people  had  sustained  when  the  banks  failed,  from  be- 
ing forced  to  use  their  bank  notes. 

BANKERS. 

Bankers  then,  as  now,  were  not  willing  to  follow  the  legiti- 
mate business  of  banking,  such  as  discount,  deposits  and  exchange,  / 
but  insisted  then,  as  now,  that  they  also  have  the  power  to  issue 
the  paper  money  to  gain  the  large  profits  arising  from  loaning 
their  bank  notes,  also  their  destruction  while  in  use.  They  never 
have  and  never  will  listen  to  the  government  issuing  the  paper 
money.  Hence  the  interminable  war  that  has  been  and  is  still 
being  waged  between  the  people  and  the  bankers,  regardless  of 
the  fatal  consequences  to  both. 

JOHN  TYLER. 

President  Tyler  was  an  able  and  honest  man  and  strove  very 
hard  to  secure  a  sound  and  just  financial  system  for  our  govern- 
ment, also  an  ample  volume  of  legal  tender  U.  S.  notes,  which 
would  have  worked  wonderful  benefit  to  the  people,  and  made 
them  prosperous  and   very  happy.      But   he   was   unsuccesful. 

POLK  AND  DALLAS. 

In  November,   1844,  James  K.   Polk  and   George  M.   Dallas 


32 

were  respectively  elected  president  and  vice-president  over 
Henry  Clay  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  the  main  issue  being 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  which  the  former  advocated  and  the  lat- 
ter deprecated. 

JAMES  K.  POLK. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1845,  James  K.  Polk  was  inaugurated 
president.  He  selected  Robert  J.  Walker  of  Mississippi  for  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury. 

TREASURY  NOTES. 

The  times  still  continued  distressingly  severe.  Our  govern- 
ment was  forced,  in  order  to  pay  its  expenses,  to  issue  treasury 
notes.  On  the  26th  of  July,  1846,  Congress  directed  the  issue  of 
$10,000,000  in  treasury  notes. 

INDEPENDENT  TREASURY. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  1846,  Congress  enacted  the  independ- 
ent treasury  law,  which  directed  that  only  gold  and  silver  coin 
and  treasury  notes  be  received  into  the  treasury  in  all  payments 
to  the  United  States.  Also,  that  all  government  money  be  kept 
in  the  treasury.  The  great  mistake  in  this  law  was  the  omission 
to  make  the  treasury  note  a  full  legal  tender  to  pay  all  debts, 
and  to  increase  the  volume  adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  people 
of  this  vast  nation,  and  who  then  were  suffering  the  torments 
from  nine  years  of  rigid  economy,  arising  from  a  totally  inade- 
quate supply  of  money.  But  there  was  that  continual  cry  of  un- 
constitutionality of  government  paper  money,  yet  in  every  in- 
stance when  the  government  was  in  trouble  and  short  of  money, 
our  government  was  forced  to  use  treasury  notes.  That  question 
has  now  been  settled  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  decid- 
ing in  favor  of  the  constitutionality  of  United  States  legal  tender 
notes. 

POPULATION. 

The  population  at  that  time  was  about  21,000,000.  An  issue 
of  $400,000,000  in  United  States  legal  tender  notes  would  have 
acted  like  a  charm  in  restoring  prosperity. 

BOB  WALKER  TARIFF. 

In  1846  Congress  enacted  the  celebrated  law,  called  the 
"Bob  Walker  Tariff".  A  tariff  for  revenue,  over  which  there  has 
been  so  much  discussion,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  as  to  its  bene- 
fits to  the  people.  It  remained  in  force  until  1857,  when,  during 
the  administration  of  President  Buchanan,  the  tariff  was  reduced 
about  20  per  cent,  which  law  went  into  force  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1857.  Democrats  have  claimed  that  it  was  this  tariff  which 
brought  the  era  of  prosperity  that  existed  from  1847  to  1855.  The 
tariff  has  ever  been  a  stumbling  block  made  by  the  bankers  and 
their  attorneys  in  Congress  against  granting  an  honest  financial 
system.  Leave  both  bankers  and  lawyers  out  of  Congress  and 
elect  good  business  men,  then  our  government  will  be  able  to 
secure  an  honest  and  correct  financial  system,  likewise  a  just  and 
equitable  tariff  law,  thereafter  rendering  the  people  prosperous 
and  contented. 

WAR  AGAINST  MEXICO. 

But  full  relief  from  the  frightful  depression  that  existed  all 
over  the  country,  which  began  in  1837,  only  came  to  the  people 


33 

about  the  close  of  the  war,  declared  in  1846  by  our  government 
against  Mexico  (many  have  alleged  that  that  war  was  unjust).  It 
was  the  idleness  and  poverty  of  the  masses  of  the  people  which 
forced  the  war.  The  hordes  of  idle  rejoiced  at  the  opportunity 
to  enlist  in  the  army,  the  doors  of  the  workhouses,  where  vagrants 
were  confined,  were  opened  and  the  inmates  liberated  to  join  the 
army,  which  they  gladly  did, 

TREASURY  NOTES  AGAIX. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  1847,  our  government  again  made 
use  of  the  Treasury  notes.  Congress  having  directed  the  issue  of 
$23,000,000  to  pay  for  supplies  for  the  army  and  to  pay  the  sold- 
iers. The  large  and  rapid  addition  to  the  money  circulation  gave 
an  impetus  to  business  all  over  the  country  and  considerably  re- 
vived the  banking  interests,  increased  the  demand  for  and 
raised  the  price  of  all  products  of  the  soil  and  factory,  increased 
the  demand  for  labor,  and  raised  wages.  Thus  a  healthy  con- 
dition was  brought  to  the  country. 

MEXICAN  SILVER  DOLLARS. 

The  soldiers  under  General  Scott  were  paid  in  Mexico  in 
treasury  notes,  which  they  exchanged  at  a  premium  for  Mexican 
silver  dollars  and  brought  back. 

GOOD  TIMES. 

When  the  war  was  over  and  the  soldiers  discharged  from 
the  army,  they  immediately  found  plenty  of  work  at  liberal  wages. 
To  the  very  large  increase  of  money  in  treasury  notes,  bank  notes 
and  gold,  alone  can  be  attributed  the  abundant  prosperity,  which 
came  to  the  people  within  a  short  time  after  the  close  of  the  Mex- 
ican war.  They  whose  faces  had  been  wrinkled  with  despair, 
wore  smiles  of  joy.  Vagrants  who  had  been  made  villians  through 
poverty,  no  longer  tramped  over  the  land  for  work,  which,  not 
finding,  caused  them  to  plunder.  Everyone  wanting  work  found 
employment  at  good  wages.  Idleness,  poverty,  misery  and  crime 
ceased.     Products  of  all  kinds  brought  good  profits  to  producers. 

CALIFORNIA   GOLD. 

But  to  add  immensely  to  this  improved  condition  was  the 
discovery  and  rapid  ti,:ning  of  the  marvelously  rich  placer  mines 
of  gold  in  California,  which  the  tens  of  thousands  of  honest  and 
willing  workers,  who  travelled  over  the  plains,  delved  in  the 
sands  and  gravel,  took  out  the  precious  metal  and  sent  it  pene- 
trating every  avenue  of  the  channels  of  trade. 

City  and  country  property  advanced  rapidly  in  value,  and  slaves 
in  the  south  sold  higher  than  ever.  What  wrought  this  wonder- 
ful change?  Money  largely  increased  in  volume  was  the  power 
which  brought  the  glorious  good  times  and  produced  so  rapidly 
the  happy  results.  Democratic  politicians  claimed  it  was  the  re- 
form tariff,  called  the  "Bob  Walker  Tariff",  enacted  in  1846, 
which  brought  "the  development  of  great  vigor  in  manufactures, 
with  steady  employment  and  an  increase  in  wages  for  labor".  But 
such  was  not  the  fact,  because  from  1837  to  1842,  a  reform  or 
low  tariff  was  in  force,  and  intensely  hard  times  existed.  In  1842 
Congress  raised  the  tariff  to  a  high  or  protective  tariff,  which  con- 
tinued in  force  until  1846,  when  the  reform  tariff  was  adopted. 
Yet  all  this  period  frightfully  hard  times  existed  and  continued 


34 

on  until  prosperity  came  in   1847  through  the  greatly  enlarged 
money  circulation. 

BANICERS  AND  POLITICIANS. 

Politicians  of  both  parties  have  ever  been  within  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  writer  declaiming  about  tariff.  Wigs  and  Republi- 
cans for  a  little  higher  and  Democrats  for  a  little  lower  tariff. 
The  former  declaring  they  were  for  protection  and  the  latter  that 
they  were  for  revenue,  yet  the  percentage  of  difference  was  small. 
The  object  has  always  been  to  distract  the  people  from  the  finan- 
cial question,  the  vastly  most  important  for  their  welfare  of  all 
issues.  The  bank  power  has  always  been  behind  to  keep  up  the 
agitation.  Bankers  have  never  been  content  to  do  the  legitimate 
business  of  banking,  such  as  deposits,  discount  and  exchange,  but 
have  always  contended  for  the  power  to  issue  bank  notes,  that  they 
might  have  the  large  profits  on  the  notes  destroyed  while 
in  use,  and  loaning  the  currency.  Now  is  the  opportune  time  for 
the  people  to  throw  off  the  yoke  and  leave  party  aside,  drop  the 
tariff  and  investigate  this  great  money  question. 

ZACHARY  TAYLOR. 

-Qn  the  4th  of  March,  1849,  l^achary  Taylor  was  inaugurated 
President.  His  successful  prosecution  of  the  war  against  Mexico 
made  him  very  popular.  The  people  wanted  a  change  and  elected 
Taylor  and  Fillmore,  the  Whig  candidates.  I  knew  General  Tay- 
lor very  well,  saw  him  frequently  at  the  office  of  my  uncle,  David 
L.  McCay.  They  were  warm  friends.  President  Taylor  was  an 
honest  man  and  would  have  made  a  good  president,  but  death  cut 
short  his  career. 

MILLARD  FILLMORE. 

Millard  Fillmore  was  sworn  into  office  as  president.  Con- 
ditions had  improved  very  much  throughout  the  coun- 
try, brought  about  by  the  issue  of  the  Treasury  notes,  impor- 
tation of  silver  from  Mexico,  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1849,  and  its  diffusion.  Also,  the  increase  of  a  very 
large  number  of  banks  and  the  large  increase  of  the  bank  note 
circulation. 

This  period  of  activity  following  the  close  of  the  Mexican 
war  and  working  the  gold  mines  of  California,  brought  a  heavy 
demand  for  railroads,  and  products  of  all  kinds.  There  was  a 
grand  opportunity  offered  for  the  continuance  and  permanence 
of  prosperity,  which  could  have  been  accomplished  through  a 
large  increase  of  money. 

FACTORIES  WANTED. 

With  money,  iron,  cotton,  etc.,  manufactories  could  have 
been  erected  and  the  iron  for  railroad  building  made  at 
home  and  the  foreign  article  dispensed  with;  also  raw  cotton  and 
wool  would  not  have  been  sent  abroad,  there  manufactured,  then 
returned  to  us  for  consumption.  Oh,  no!  This  would  be  too 
good  for  the  people!  The  money  brokers  were  selfish,  they 
wanted  the  profits  in  selling  our  bonds  abroad.  They  did  not 
care  how  colossal  a  debt  would  be  piled  up  against  us  abroad 
or  the  enormous  interest  to  be  sent  to  the  "money  kings"  of 
Europe. 


35 

GOVERNMENT    PAPER    MONEY. 

Government  paper  money  could  have  been  provided  in  the 
building  up  of  our  country,  by  an  issue  of  an  ample  volume  of 
full  legal  tender  treasury  notes,  issued  and  placed  in  the  chan- 
nels of  trade  in  payment  for  greatly  needed  internal  improve- 
ments. But  our  congressmen  failed  to  grasp  the  situation.  They 
could  not  fathom  the  vastness  of  our  country  nor  the  immensity 
of  the  wants  of  the  people  in  building  it  up.  They  could  not  see 
that  if  the  gold  was  sent  abroad  to  pay  for  foreign  products,  the 
basis  would  be  taken  from  the  bank  notes,  the  banks  would  fail, 
then  both  gold  and  notes  would  be  lost  to  the  use  of  the  people. 
They  let  the  opportunity  slip,  and  as  a  result  importations  of 
foreign  products  were  enormous  and  nearly  all  our  gold  and  sil- 
ver money  was  sent  abroad  to  pay  for  them.  This  enormous  im- 
portation of  foreign  products  set  in  about  1851,  and  was  kept 
up  right  along,  and  just  as  fast  as  our  mines  turned  out  the 
gold  it  was  exported  to  pay  for  those  foreign  products.  At  the 
same  time  any  of  our  people  who  had  good  enterprises,  not  find- 
ing money  in  our  country,  had  to  go  to  Europe  and  sell  their 
bonds,  frequently  at  a  large  discount,  and  thus  an  enormous  for- 
eign debt  was  piled  up  against  us.  Our  money  circulation  was 
always  entirely  inadequate,  which  forced  an  enormous  credit 
system,  only  to  burst  in  a  few  years  and  bring  ruin.  Our  boy 
was  too  big   and   growing  too   fast   for   his  breeches. 

Within  a  few  years  the  treasury  notes  issued  in  carrying 
on  the  war  against  Mexico  were  paid  into  the  Treasury  for  custom 
duties  and  lands,  then  cancelled.  Thus  so  much  debt  paying 
power  went  out  of  existence. 

HEAVY  DEMAND  FOR  SILVER. 

There  was  considerable  foreign  silver  jn  our  country,  much 
of  it  Mexican,  which  our  soldiers  brought  with  them  from  Mexico, 
that  they  obtained  in  exchange  for  treasury  notes.  The  silver 
coin  was  a  legal  tender  and  held  by  the  banks  for  their  reserves. 
After  the  opening  of  the  Asiatic  ports  there  came  a  heavy  de- 
mand for  silver.  The  great  banking  firm  of  Rothschilds,  Money 
Kings  of  Europe,  through  their  fiscal  agent  in  this  country,  Mr. 
August  Belmont,  in  New  York  City,  and  Mr.  Isaac  Nathan  Hanau, 
in  New  Orleans,  quietly  began  the  purchase  and  exportation  of 
our  silver.  For  quite  a  while  it  was  not  known  whither  this  sil- 
ver was  being  exported.  Finally  it  was  found  out  that  it  was  be- 
ing shipped  to  Europe,  hence  to  Asiatic  ports  where  in  the  be- 
ginning it  was  worth  5  to  1,  giving  the  Rothschilds  an  enormous 
profit. 

SILVER  COIN  DEBASED. 

Small  silver  coins  had  become  so  very  scarce  that  it  was 
made  difficult  to  obtain  silver  change  for  a  five-dollar  gold  piece. 
This  great  scarcity  of  the  fractional  silver  money  forced  Con- 
gress to  enact  on  February  26th,  1853,  a  law  debasing  about  7 
per  cent  the  fractional  silver  coins  by  reducing  the  number,  of 
grains  of  pure  silver  in  the  two  half  dollars,  four  quarters  and 
ten  dimes  from  371.25  grains  to  347,22  grains  to  the  dollar,  at 
which  they  are  still  being  coined.  The  action  was  taken  by  our 
government  to  prevent  the  further  exportation  of  our  silver  coins 
from  the  country,  but  was  not  successful.  Also,  the  fractional 
silver  coins  which  had   unlimited   legal  tender  value   under  the 


36 

law  of  1792  were  reduced  to  sums  of  $5.00.  The  signing  and 
approval  of  this  coinage  law  debasing  the  fractional  silver  coins 
was  about  one  of  the  last  acts  of  the  administration  of  President 
Fillmore.  It  shows  that  it  is  not  the  value  of  the  metal  that 
fixes  the  money  value,  but  the  enactment  of  the  law  creating  the 
legal  tender  value.     The  law  only,  makes  and  unmakes  money. 

INCREASE   STATE   BANKS. 

In  all  sections  of  the  country  State  Banks  were  being  or- 
ganized and  increasing  the  bank  note  circulation  very  largely. 

GENERAL   FRANKLIN   PIERCE. 

Franklin  Pierce  was  inaugurated  president  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1853.  He  was  a  good  man,  but  not  a  financier.  He 
went  into  office  in  a  period  of  very  fair  prosperity,  brought  about 
by  the  large  production  of  gold  in  California,  which  was  diffused 
over  the  country  only  to  be  gathered  and  concentrated  at  New 
York  City  for  export  to  Europe,  to  pay  for  foreign  products. 
Such  was  the  condition  throughout  his  administration.  Import 
of  foreign  products,  export  of  gold,  and  the  piling  up  of  an  en- 
ormous foreign  debt  for  our  people  to  pay  interest  upon  for  years 
to  come.  Not  a  healthy  aspect,  but  just  as  our  people  had  done 
before,  did  then,  and  are  now  doing.  They  seem  blind  to  ,their 
interests. 

ENORMOUS  EXPORTS  OF  SILVER. 

From  the  1st  of  July,  1846  to  1st  of  July  1853,  $93,313,498 
net  in  silver  was  exported  from  our  country  (see  mint  report 
1895  p.  295.  Mr.  Isaac  Nathan  Hanau  was  a  nephew  of  the  Vienna 
Rothchilds  and  became  quite  a  noted  person  in  New  Orleans,  a 
small  man,  large  head,  large  eyes,  large  Roman  nose,  large  legs, 
bow  legged,  always  wore  a  bland  smile,  walked  rapidly  and 
dressed  well.  As  he  passed  by  every  stranger  was  sure  to  gaze 
after  him.  Italian  workers  in  plaster  paris  caricatured  him  to 
perfection  in  plaster  size,  about  one  foot  high,  which  they  sold 
to  business  men.  This  aggravated  Mr.  Hanau  exceedingly.  He 
finally  bought  them  off,  had  the  moulds,  also  caricatures  gathered 
as  far  as  possible  and  destroyed.  He  was  an  affable,  pleasant, 
prompt  and  good  business  man.  The  writer  was  well  acquainted 
with  and  had  a  number  of  business  transactions  with  him. 

NEAV   ORLEANS. 

During  the  year  1852  I  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  As- 
sistant Aldermen  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  and  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  during  1853  to  1856,  and  was  well  posted 
as  to  the  financial  conditions  in  all  sections  of  the  country.  From 
1835  up,  I  was  a  constant  reader  of  the  daily  papers. 

INCREASED  SALARIES. 

Salaries  and  wages  were  very  liberal  from  1849  and  con- 
tinued to  advance  up  to  185  6,  likewise  real  estate  and  all  pro- 
ducts enhanced  in  value,  and  conditions  continued  very  fair  right 
along  up  to  that  time,  but  the  volume  of  the  circulation  likewise 
should  have  been  increased  more  largely  with  the  large  increase 
of  wealth. 

FOREIGN  GOLD  AND  SILVER  DEMONETIZED. 

Congress  on  the  21st  of  February,  1857,  enacted  a  law  tak- 
ing the  legal  tender  value  from  the  foreign  gold  and  silver  coins, 


37 

depriving  the  banks  from  holding  them  in  their  reserves,  also 
the  people  from  using  them  to  pay  debts.  It  was  done  in  the 
interest  of  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe,"  to  facilitate  its  ex- 
portation. It  was  reported  shortly  after  the  adoption  by  con- 
gress of  this  *ill  advised  measure,  that  August  Belmont,  fiscal 
agent  of  the  Rothchilds,  was  the  instigator. 

President  Pierce  made  a  great  mistake  in  signing  the  law, 
which  was  against  the  interests  of  our  people. 

NEW  BANKS. 

Many  new  banks  had  been  organized,  which  improved  con- 
ditions very  much,  as  it  increased  the  bank  note  circulation. 

JAMES   BUCHANAN. 

On  the  4th  of  March  1857,  James  Buchanan  was  inaugurated 
President.  At  that  time  our  country  was  in  a  very  critical  con- 
dition, owing  to  the  heavy  contraction  of  the  money  circulation. 
The  Treasury  notes  issued  several  years  previous  had  been  re- 
ceived in  the  treasury  and  cancelled.  Silver  and  gold  had  been 
largely  exported  and  the  legal  tender  had  been  taken  from  all 
the  foreign  gold  and  silver  coin,  that  were  in  our  country. 

ENORMOUS  EXPORTS  OF  SPECIE. 

From  July  1st,  1848,  to  July  1st,  1857,  the  enormous  sum 
of  $267,968,454,  net  in  gold  and  silver  had  been  exported  (see 
mint  report  of  1895,  pages  295  and  296).  During  the  same 
period  the  imports  of  foreign  merchandise  exceeded  in  value 
the  exports  of  our  products  by  $346,598,184.  (S.  A.  U.  S.  No. 
13,  p.  61). 

The  exportation  of  this  enormous  amount  of  metallic  money 
took  from  the  banks  their  coin  basis  of  legal  reserves,  required 
to  be  held  to  secure  payment  of  bank  notes  and  money  due  de- 
positors. Also  took  away  the  backing  from  the  vast  credits 
required  to  carry  on  the  immense  internal  trade  of  our  country. 

The  enactment  of  the  law  taking  the  legal  tender  from  the 
foreign  gold  and  silver  coins,  depriving  the  banks  from  holding 
them  in  their  reserves,  also  the  people  from  using  them  to  pay 
debts,  was  done  in  the  interest  of  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe," 
to  facilitate  its  exportation.  It  was  reported  shortly  after  the 
adoption  by  congress  of  this  ill  advised  measure  that  August 
Belmont,  fiscal  agent  of  the  Rothchilds,  was  the  author,  and 
was  afterwards  rewarded  with  the  appointment  as  Minister  to 
Netherlands  by  President  Buchanan.  But  only  a  vast  amount 
of  bank  notes,  and  a  very  limited  amount  of  gold  and  silver 
coin,  were  left  to  the  people.  The  revenues  of  the  government 
had  been  much  reduced,  its  credit  weakened,  and  bonds  could 
not  be  negotiated  except  at  a  heavy  rate  of  interest. 

TREASURY  NOTES. 

Consequently  our  government  again  resorted  to  the  use  of 
Treasury  notes  to  pay  its  expenses  and  $20,000,000  were  issued, 
which  were  made  receivable  for  all  payments  to  the  government. 
The  contraction  policy  was  also  telling  sorely  upon  the  people 
and  the  banks.  Here  was  another  opportunity  offered  the  govern- 
ment to  relieve  the  people  by  an  ample  issue  of  legal  tender 
notes,  but  the  money  power  would  not  consent  to  the  govern- 
ment issuing  paper  money. 


-4 


38) 

DISASTROUS  FINANCIAL  PANIC  1857. 

Finally  the  strain  of  contraction  became  so  severe  that  the 
break  had  to  come,  and  the  people  were  startled  with  the  failure 
of  the  Ohio  Life  Insurance  &  Trust  Company  of  Cincinnati,  then 
considered  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  reliable- institutions  of 
the  country.  The  New  York  branch  went  to  protest  in  August, 
1857,  hence  the  collapse. 

The  failure  of  about  four-fifths  of  all' the  banks  throughout 
the  country  followed;  those  which  escaped  from  being  engulfed 
were  left  in  such  a  helpless  condition  as  to  be  of  little  service  to 
the  business  people. 

The  bank  notes  soon  depreciated  in  value,  and  in  many  cases 
became  almost  worthless  or  worthless,  and  the  holders,  as  well 
as  the  depositors  in  the  banks,  were  left  wailing  over  their  mis- 
fortunes. Widows  as  well  as  the  aged,  who  had  their  all  in  the 
banks,  were  in  sore  grief  and  in  a  most  deplorable  condition.  The 
collapse  of  the  banks  was  sudden,  yet  the  cause,  which  was  the 
loss  of  their  gold  and  silver  coin  basis,  decreasing  the  volume  of 
the  circulation,  had  been  going  on  for  several  years.  Business 
conditions  soon  became  frightful,  and  the  shrinkage  of  wealth  was 
rapid  and  vast,  likewise  employment  of  the  people,  and  their 
wages  and  salaries  went  down. 

IDLENESS  AND  LOW  WAGES. 

Thus  again  was  presented  the  melancholy  spectacle  of  a 
great  and  progressive  nation  deprived  very  largely  of  its  circu- 
lating medium.  Thus  came  that  disastrous  financial  panic  of 
185  7,  with  all  its  direful  results,  culminating  only  in  thQ  Civil 
War,  and  believed  by  many  to  be,  owing  to  the  poverty  of  the 
great  masses  of  the  people,  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  that 
most  unfortunate  fraternal  strife. 

That  panic  was  caused  solely  by  a  loss  of  a  large  volume  of 
the  circulating  medium  from  the  channels  of  trade,  which  brought 
general  bankruptcy,  intense  idleness,  and  widespread  ruin,  heavy 
reduction  in  wages  and  salaries,  in  many  cases  50  to  75  per  cent, 
large  decline  in  the  value  of  real  estate,  and  in  prices  of  all  pro- 
ducts, mostly  below  cost  of  production.  Idleness,  poverty  and 
misery  had  sway  and  a  dark  pall  hung  over  the  land.  There  were 
an  immense  number  of  idle  people,  competition  was  very  great, 
and  salaries  and  wages  very  low.  Bank  cashiers  who  in  1853  had 
received  $2000  to  $3000  per  annum  were  reduced  in  1859  to  $600 
to  $900  per  year;  clerks  from  $75  to  $100  per  month  to  $15  to 
$40,  and  carpenters  from  $2.50  to  $3.0u  per  day  to  65  to  75 
cents  per  day.  The  most  odious  laws  were  enacted  to  prevent 
vagrancy,  without  avail.  The  idle  were  marched  daily  in  gangs 
before  magistrates  and  committed  without  other  trial  than  the 
judgment  of  the  magistrate,  to  six  and  twelve  months  confine- 
men  in  the  workhouse. 

DECLINE  IN  SALARIES. 

y  Illustrating  the  decline  in  salaries,  there  appeared  in  Oc- 
tober 1892,  in  the  "Pioneer  Press"  of  St.  Paul  an  article  entitled 
"Some  Free  Advice  to  Clerks  to  Accept  Salary  Reductions  Cheer- 
fully", writen  by  Mr,  N.  P.  Langford,  who  stated  that  he  was 
cashier  of  a  bank  in  that  city  in  1857,  which  failed,  and  he,  up 
to  that  time,  had  received  a  salary  of  $2,500  per  year.  That  in 
1858  another  bank  was  organized,  and  owing  to  his  long  experi- 


39 

ence  as  a  banker,  he  was  offered  the  position  of  cashier  at  a  sal- 
ary of  $600  per  year,  which  he,  owing  to  the  hard  times,  cheer- 
fully accepted,  being  a  reduction  of  over  75  per  cent.  "Mr.. 
Langford  states  that  hard  times  are  coming  again,  hence  his  free 
advice  to  young  men  to  cheerfully  accept  the  situation  in  a  re- 
duction of  salary." 

FINANCIER  HARRIMAN  BORN  TO  POVERTY. 

The  man  who  at  sixty  could  speak  in  this  calm  way  of  his 
achievements  was  born  to  poverty.  He  was  one  of  the  six  chil- 
dren of  the  Rev.  Orlando  Harriman.  When  E.  H.  Harriman  was 
eleven  years  of  age,  in  1859,  his  father  acted  as  rector  in  West 
Hoboken,  at  a  salary  of  $200  a  year,  or  less  than  $4  per  week. 
For  several  years  the  Harriman  family  remained  in  West  Hoboken 
on  this  salary,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  the  church  owed  the 
rector  $374  for  arrears  of  salary.  He  settled  with  the  church 
for  $250,  "payable  in  six  months".     N.  Y.  Am.,  Aug.  9,  1908. 

In  the  face  of  that  most  disastrous  and  frightful  panic  of 
1837,  which  lasted  ten  long  years,  the  bankers  and  business  men 
did  nothing  to  avert  the  bankrupting  cyclone  of  1857.  On  the 
contrary  the  measures  enacted  by  Congress  only  hastened  it  on. 
Still  with  the  loud  warnings  of  1837,  1857,  1873,  1893,  and  the 
slight  shock  of  1907  now  under  way,  the  bankers  generally  of 
our  country  are  now  doing  much  to  strengthen  and  intensify 
the  impending  storm,  brewing  all  over  the  country,  the  severity 
of  which,  owing  to  the  immense  wealth,  may  be  more  severe  than 
panics  that  have  happened  heretofore. 

WARNING. 

Manufacturers,  merchants,  farmers  and  toilers,  beware  of 
the  present  panic  of  1907,  take  heed  of  the  sad  experience  of 
the  past,  and  endeavor  with  all  your  might  through  honest  legis- 
lation, to  avert  its  further  progress.  Money  is  the  power  and  its 
large  increase  in  the  channels  of  trade  is  the  only  remedy.  It  is 
now  absolutely  needed  in  larger  volume  than  ever  to  back  up  the 
immensely  vast  credits  required  to  transact  the  prodigiously  en- 
ormous internal  and  external  trade  of  our  country.  As  confidence 
ekes  out,  credits  play  out,  then  vastly  more  money  is  needed; 
such  is  the  condition  at  the  present  time.  The  wealth  of  our 
country  was  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  mil- 
lion dollars  one  year  ago,  July,  1907,  since  then  there  has  been 
an  enormous  shrinkage  in  values.  In  railoads  alone  three  thous- 
and million  dollars  is  reported. 

But  few  human  minds  can  conceive  the  vast  credits  and 
money  requisite  for  the  successful  movement  of  the  immense  un- 
dertakings of  the  progressive  and  wonderful  people  of  this  ex- 
pansive country. 

They  cannot,  they  are  groping  in  the  dark,  otherwise  they 
would  use  every  effort  to  check  the  financial  storm  which  is  now 
bringing  consternation  in  every  branch  of  business.  Just  imagine 
the  great  wrong  and  damage  that  has  been  caused  during  the 
various  disastrous  financial  panics  through  not  having  an  ample 
volume  of  the  circulating  medium  to  maintain  the  growing  wealth. 

MONEY. 

There  are  intelligent  men  from  intense  adhesion  to  party,  de- 
claring the  cause  of  the  panics  to  be  from  low  or  high  tariff,  over 


production  or  extravagance.  The  sole  cause  is  the  contracted 
money  circulation.  Money  is  the  power  that  makes  and  unmakes 
nations,  just  as  it  is  increased  or  decreased;  governments  make 
and  unmake  money  by  enactments  declaring  a  legal  tender. 

SELL  BONDS. 

Efforts  were  made  to  sell  government  bonds  bearing  6  per 
cent  to  pay  the  government  expenses,  but  they  were  a  complete 
failure,  and  matters  grew  from  bad  to  worse. 

LARGER  CIRCULATION  NEEDED. 

Had  President  Buchanan  been  a  thorough  business  man  (such 
as  Dr.  Franklin,  Thomas  Jefferson  or  John  Tyler,  who  knew  the 
power  of  money)  capable  of  penetrating  into  the  wretched  condi- 
tion of  the  people,  he  would  have  recommended  Congress  to  issue 
and  place  in  circulation  an  ample  volume  of  full  legal  tender 
treasury  notes  to  fill  the  vacuum  caused  by  the  exported  coin  and 
worthless  bank  notes,  which  would  have  afforded  immediate  re- 
lief. 

TREASURY  NOTES. 

The  government  had  temporary  relief  in  the  issue  of  the  $20- 
000,000  treasury  notes.  Why  could  not  an  abundant  relief  have 
been  afforded  the  people  in  an  issue  by  our  government  of  about 
five  hundred  million  dollars  in  legal  tender  U.  S.  notes,  which 
would  have  given  full  employment  to  the  several  million  idle  peo- 
ple, very  many  thousands  of  whom  had  been  thrown  into  prisons 
on  account  of  idleness,  and  were  becoming  very  vicious  and  cared 
not  what  would  be  the  result,  even  if  it  brought  on  a  civil  war. 
Our  government  could  have  expended  the  vast  sum  in  making 
greatly  needed  internal  improvements  and  employed  all  the  idle 
people.  But  unfortunately  for  the  people,  President  Buchanan 
had  devoted  his  early  business  life  in  studying  the  technicalities  in 
law,  and  afterwards  as  a  plodding  politician,  too  timid  and  vacil- 
lating to  act  in  a  great  emergency.  Had  he  been  the  equal  of 
Franklin,  our  country  would  have  been  restored  to  prosperity,  the 
people  made  happy  and  that  most  unfortunate  civil  war  averted. 
A  great  many  people  ascribed  the  war  to  the  extreme  poverty  of 
the  great  masses  of  the  people. 

United  States  Bonds  were  then  unsaleable  even  at  a  heavy 
discount  and  at  a  high  rate  of  interest  offered. 

In  1859,  being  on  very  friendly  terms  with  the  late  Senator 
John  Slidell  of  Louisiana,  I  urged  him  to  recommend  to  President 
Buchanan  that  Congress  issue  an  ample  volume  of  U.  S.  legal 
tender  treasury  notes,  to  afford  relief  to  the  people,  but  he  de- 
clined to  do  so. 

WRETCHED  FINANCIAL  SYSTEM. 

The  wretched  financial  system  of  our  government  from  its 
very  foundation  up  to  the  civil  war,  in  permitting  State  Banks 
to  issue  bank  notes  based  upon  specie,  being  the  main  portion 
of  the  circulating  medium  for  the  people,  was  extremely  bad, 
worthless  and  rotten,  and  the  sole  cause  of  those  exceedingly  dis- 
astrous financial  panics  of  1814,  1837,  and  that  of  1857,  which 
prevailed  throughout  our  country,  causing  the  idleness,  bank- 
ruptcy, ruin  and  misery  among  the  people.  The  latter  panic  of 
1857,  which  brought  such  intense  idleness,  was  the  main  cause  of 
the  civil  war. 


41 

The  government  only  should  have  issued  the  paper  money 
circulation  and  made  it  a  legal  tender,  as  banks  have  never  had 
the  wealth  to  increase  the  volume  so  very  largely  and  absolutely 
needed  by  the  people  to  maintain  the  continuous  growth  of  wealth. 
A  bank  note  currency  based  upon  specie  or  bonds  is  a  false  pre- 
tense and  fraud. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugu- 
rated President.  The  people  throughout  the  country  were  then 
in  a  very  deplorable  condition  and  intense  idleness  existed  among 
the  masses  in  every  section.  This  sad  state  of  affairs  arose  solely 
from  the  great  scarcity  of  money,  originating  with  the  failure  of 
the  banks  in  1857,  which  brought  on  the  severe  monetary  crisis, 
which  continued  in  severity  until  only  a  few  banks  were  left  sol- 
vent, and  they  would  not  take  the  bank  notes  issued  by  each  other, 
and  they  had  to  be  disposed  of  at  a  discount  or  were  worthless. 
Matters  continued  thus  until  the  financial  panic  became  frightfully 
disastrous  in  the  fall  of  1859.  I  returned  to  New  Orleans  from 
Texas  on  November  1st,  1859,  where  I  owned  three  stock  ranches, 
and  went  back  March  1st,  1860. 

MONEY  VERY  SCARCE. 

Money  was  very  scarce  and  business  growing  worse.  Such 
were  the  conditions  up  to  the  time  of  the  inauguration  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln. 

THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

The  firing  upon  Fort  Sumpter  brought  the  Civil  War,  when 
President  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  and  called  out  the  troops. 
There  was  no  difficulty  in  securing  an  army  in  the  North  or  South 
from  the  vast  number  of  idle  people  ready  to  enlist. 

FUNDS  NEEDED. 

Those  in  authority  were  convinced  that  a  vast  sum  of  money 
would  be  immediately  required  to  pay  the  expense  of  the  war. 

STATE  RANKS. 

The  banks  were  in  a  desperate  way  and  in  no  condition  what- 
ever to  aid  the  govenrment.  Bank  notes  could  not  be  used  nor 
the  amount  increased  adequate  even  for  the  commercial  business. 
Yet  the  bankers  objected  to  government  issues. 

LOANS. 

It  was  impossible  to  sell  government  bonds  even  at  a  high 
rate  of  interest,  with  a  considerable  discount.  Money  was  very 
scarce. 

DEMAND  NOTES. 

The  only  relief  left  was  for  the  government  to  resort  to  its 
prerogative  and  power  to  create  and  make  use  of  its  own  legal 
tender  paper  money  and  right  away  $60,000,000  in  demand  notes 
were  issued  and  placed  in  circulation,  receivable  for  custom  dues, 
and  which  afforded  every  facility  for  debt  paying.  But  the  bank- 
ers objected  to  such  circulation,  which  could  be  used  in  payment 
of  custom  dues,  and  thus  maintain  a  parity  with  gold. 

UNITED  STATES  NOTES. 

Congress  authorized  the  issue  of  United  States  Notes,  firstly, 
$150,000,000.      Afterwards,    the    amount    was    increased    in    the 


42 

prosecution  of  the  war,  until  finally  it  reached  the  vast  sum  of 
$450,000,000,  but  in  order  to  prevent  it  being  maintained  on  a 
parity  with  gold,  by  simply  making  the  U.  S.  notes  a  legal  tender 
in  payment  of  any  and  every  debt,  the  bankers  objected  as  it 
would  drive  the  State  Bank  notes  out  of  circulation.  Therefore, 
Senator  John  Sherman,  as  principal,  working  in  the  interest  of  the 
bankers,  had  the  United  States  notes  excepted  from  paying  cus- 
tom dues,  which  forced  business  men  to  buy  gold  coin,  to  make 
such  payments,  and  as  gold  was  very  scarce  they  were  compelled 
to  pay  a  premium  for  it,  to  pay  the  custom  dues,  a  vile  wrong  to 
the  people  and  most  outrageous  on  the  part  of  Senator  Sherman 
and  his  banker  cohorts.  It  forced  immensely  vast  losses  upon 
the  people. 

FRENCH  FINANCIAL  SYSTEM. 

All  moneys  issued  in  France  are  a  legal  tender  to  pay  any 
debt,  whether  in  silver  five  franc  coins,  gold  20  franc  coins,  or  the 
bank  notes  of  the  Bank  of  France,  The  law  prohibits  the  pay- 
ment of  debts  in  specific  money,  which  action  maintains  at  a 
parity  all  the  money  issued  by  France.  Such  would  be  the  case 
in  our  country  had  we  in  existence  similar  just  and  honest  laws. 
The  laws  here  are  for  the  interest  of  the  bankers,  who  make  pay- 
ments of  notes  due  them  in  gold  coin  solely,  while  the  banker 
pays  depositors  in  their  bank  notes — a  selfish  and  dishonest  sys- 
i^tem. 

SALMON  P.  CHASE. 

Salmon  P.  Chase  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
who  with  Senator  Sherman  concocted  the  National  Banking  Law 
in  February,  1863.  A  more  unjust,  selfish  and  vile  scheme  to 
prey  upon  the  people  could  not  have  been  organized,  and  for 
which  there  was  no  necessity,  as  the  government  was  amply  able 
to  furnish  all  the  money  needed  to  prosecute  the  war,  also  pro- 
vide for  the  business  interests  of  the  country  besides  aid  all  the  • 
State  Banks  to  regain  their  business. 

THE  NATIONAL  BANKING  SYSTEM. 

The  National  Banking  System  has  entailed  upon  the  people 
a  perpetual  bonded  debt,  without  reason  therefor,  and  forced  the 
government  to  pay  the  National  Banks  a  permanent  interest  upon 
the  government  bonds  pledged  by  National  Banks  to  the  gov- 
ernment to  allow  them  to  issue  National  Bank  notes.  Since  the 
organization  of  the  National  Banks  our  government  has  paid 
those  banks  and  immensely  vast  sum  in  interest,  and  still 
continues  to  do  so.  At  one  time  the  government  paid  the  banks 
as  high  as  5  and  6  per  cent  per  annum  interest,  also  left  enorm- 
ous sums  upon  deposit  with  the  National  Banks,  without  interest. 

NATIONAL   BANK   NOTES. 

The  National  Bank  notes  in  circulation  on  the  1st  day  of 
July,  1908,  amounted  to  near  about  $700,000,000,  upon  which 
our  government -is  paying  the  National  Banks  upon  the  pledged 
bonds  an  average  interest  at  the  rate  of  say  3  per  cent  per  an- 
num, about  $20,000,000  per  annum.  A  graft  of  the  rankest  kind 
upon  the  people. 

REGRETS  OF  SECRETARY  CHASE. 

Under  our  present  banking  system  a  few  National  Banks 
owned  by  a  few  men  of  great  wealth,  have  it  in  their  power  to 


43 

contract  the  currency  at  any  time  and  produce  a  financial  panic 
involving  every  interest  in  the  country  and  affecting  every  work- 
ingman  in  the  land.  There  never  was  devised  by  the  ingenuity 
of  man  a  more  specious  plan  for  robbing  his  fellow  man  than  the 
national  banking  act.  Said  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Lincoln's  great  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  years  afterwards,  in  an  hour  of  regret: 

"My  agency  in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  national  bank 
act  was  the  greatest  financial  mistake  of  my  life.  It  has  built 
up  a  monopoly  that  affects  every  interest  in  the  country.  It 
should  be  repealed.  But  before  this  can  be  accomplished  the  peo- 
ple will  be  arrayed  on  one  side  and  the  banks  on  the  other  in  a 
contest  such  as  we  have  never  seen  in  this  country." 

THE  CONFEDERACY. 

The  people  of  the  South  formed  the  Confederacy  out  of  the 
larger  number  of  the  states  south  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line. 
There  was  no  want  of  troops,  an  army  rapidly  volunteered,  but 
there  were  no  funds  to  prosecute  the  war.  All  were  suffering 
from  the  frightfully  disastrous  financial  panic  of  1857,  leaving 
no  money  among  the  people,  which  brought  idleness  and  poverty. 
The  banks  having  all  but  a  few  closed  their  doors,  their  bank 
notes  could  no  longer  be  used. 

CONFEDERATE  NOTES. 

Therefore  the  Confederacy  issued  confederate  notes  made 
payable  five  years  after  the  close  of  the  war — an  exceedingly  grave 
error,  just  as  was  made  by  the  Colonial  government,  in  issuing 
Continental  notes,  which  were  made  payable  in  Spanish  milled 
dollars,  few  of  which  were  in  existence.  The  Confederate  notes 
soon  ceased  from  being  serviceable,  not  having  any  legal  tender 
value  to  pay  debts.  The  southern  people  fought  long  and  desper- 
ately, but  having  no  money,  became  completely  exhausted.  When 
the  civil  strife  ceased  from  complete  exhaustion,  they  were  with- 
out funds  to  make  repairs  or  renew  their  property,  but  they  went 
to  work  and  made  crops  of  cotton,  which  brought  good  prices, 
and  owing  to  the  large  volume  of  money  in  the  north,  it  soon  went 
south,  which  gave  considerable  relief  to  the  people.  Also  many 
from  the  north  invested  largely  their  funds  in  the  south. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  186.5,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugu- 
rated President  for  a  second  term.  The  war  had  been  prosecuted 
with  great  vigor. 

AMPLE  MONEY. 

The  volume  of  money  had  been  continuous  and  ample  for  the 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  also  the  entire  business  interests 
of  the  people  of  the  north,  and  aided  in  building  up  rapidly  im- 
mense wealth. 

On  the  31st  of  October,  1865,  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  as  published  in  "Appleton's  Gazette,"  showed  the 
money  of  the  country  was  $1,782,254,939.  The  money  was  of 
the  following: 

U.    S.    notes    (greenbacks) $     431,066,427 

Fractional  currency 25,033,828 

Legal   tender   certificates 130,051,721 

Legal  tender  certificates 130,051,721 


44 

Legal  tender  demand  notes 472,603 

National    bank    notes 146,137,860 

State  bank  notes 69,500,000 

Gold  and   silver 150,000,000 


$1,782,254,939 

Say  about  $70  per  capita  for  the  25,000,000  people  of  the 
north,  or  $50  per  capita  for  the  people  of  the  entire  country. 

A  large  portion  of  the  Treasury  notes,  though  legal  tender, 
bore  interest.  These  the  banks  held  mostly  for  their  reserves, 
which  enabled  the  keeping  in  active  circulation  all  the  United 
States  notes  and  National  bank  notes;  also  insurance  companies, 
which  keep  large  cash  money  assets,  retain  these  interest  bearing 
legal  tenders. 

VERY  FEW  FAILURES. 

With  the  great  aid  of  the  generous  and  vast  circulation 
throughout  the  North,  the  business  of  the  retail  merchants  was 
done  largely  for  cash,  with  great  safety.  This  bounteous  supply 
of  money  was  acting  like  a  charm,  and  according  to  Bradstreet's 
reports,  the  business  failures  of  the  northern  section  of  our  coun- 
try were  comparatively  few,  as  follows: 

1864 520 

1865 531 

1866 632 

Total 1683 

This  generous  supply  of  money,  amounting  to  over  $50  per 
capita,  rating  the  entire  pouplation  of  our  country  at  35,000,000, 
was  in  the  hands  of  only  the  25,000,000  people  of  the  North. 

See  how  different  with  the  Uhited  States  legal  tender  note 
supply  of  money,  enabling  cash  business,  from  the  vile  old  State 
Bank  note  system,  based  upon  specie,  forcing  contraction,  slow 
sales,  long  credit  and  collections  difficult.  Such  a  wretched  sys- 
tem can  still  be  greatly  improved  over,  the  National  Banking  Sys- 
tem, which  is  selfish  and  unjust. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

On  the  14th  of  April,  1865,  just  as  peace  was  coming  back  to 
all  the  people,  a  cowardly  assassin  struck  down  the  President,  a 
most  cruel,  grievous  and  unfortunate  action  for  the  entire  coun- 
try. 

ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

Immediately  upon  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  the  oath  was  administered  to  Andrew  Johnson,  who 
assumed  the  office  of  President.  In  a  short  time  a  wrangle  began, 
which  was  continued  throughout  his  term.  President  Johnson 
had  no  financial  ability,  but  was  very  stubborn  and  solely  con- 
trolled by  the  Money  Power. 

POWER  OF  MONEY. 

At  the  close  of- the  war  there  was  a  generous  supply  of  money 
in  the  channels  of  trade  throughout  the  north,  which  had  a  popu- 
lation of  about  25,000,000.  The  millions  of  soldiers  discharged 
from  the  army  were,  through  this  liberal  supply  of  money,  enabled 
to  find  immediate  employment  at  remunerative  wages.     The  north 


•*5 

at  this  period  was  likened  to  a  great  bee  hive  full  of  active  work- 
ers with  an  abundance  of  cash  to  work  with.  Thus  prosperity 
revived  throughout  that  part  of  the  country. 

NEW  YORK  HERALD. 

The  N.  Y.  "Herald"  was  out  every  few  days  with  an  editorial 
urging  the  people  to  subscribe  sufficient  money  to  pay  off  at  once 
the  national  debt,  which  could  have  been  accomplished  had  our 
government  not  adopted  the  National  Banking  System,  and  in  lieu 
caused  to  be  issued  only  government  legal  tender  money,  in  am- 
ple volume  to  maintain  all  the  people  in  active  employment  and 
the  continuous  growth  of  wealth,  instead  of  issuing  vast  amounts 
of  bonds,  only  to  provide  for  a  circulation  for  the  National  Banks, 
thus  giving  them  unwisely  and  very  unjustly  enormous  profits, 
which  has  been  a  continuous  and  immense  graft  of  the  govern- 
ment funds. 

SOUTHERN  PEOPLE. 

The  south,  with  a  population  of  about  10,000,000,  was  in  a 
most  deplorable  condition  through  the  ravages  of  war,  also  from 
decay  for  the  want  of  money  to  keep  things  in  repair,  and  much 
misery  existed  in  that  portion  of  our  beloved  land.  The  cur- 
rency was  confederate  notes,  which  were  almost  worthless  from 
the  first  issue  because  they  were  issued  by  an  unstable  govern- 
ment in  rebellion,  were  poorly  engraved  and  largely  counter- 
feited, and  so  well  executed  that  the  bad  note  could  not  be  told 
from  the  genuine.  They  were  not  made  a  legal  tender  to  pay 
debts,  therefore  had  no  forced  debt  paying  power,  but  were  made 
redeemable  in  coin  upon  the  success  of  the  confederacy,  in  which 
many  of  the  people  had  no  confidence;  all  combined  caused  this 
paper  currency  to  be  a  failure  from  the  start.  They,  however, 
were  in  various  ways  beginning  to  acquire  some  of  this  generous 
supply  of  money,  and  it  was  enabling  them  to  patch  up  the 
wrecks  of  that  terrible,  desolating  war,  and  was  making  them 
more  content  with  their  sad  condition.  But  that  syndicate  crowd 
heade'd  by  Belmont  soon  got  in  their  licks  of  contraction,  put  a 
blight  upon  the  prospects  of  the  Southern  as  well  as  the  North- 
ern people.  They  in  a  short  time  reduced  the  greenbacks  from 
$450,000,000  to  $356,000,000,  a  loss  to  the  daily  cash  payments 
of  $94,000,000. 

DEMOCRATIC  LEADER. 

In  July,  1865,  Mr.  August  Belmont,  fiscal  agent  of  Messrs. 
Rothschild,  was,  at  the  instigation  of  Senator  Thomas  F.  Bayard, 
elected  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  national  executive  commit- 
tee, and  at  his  dictation  kept  there  until  1876 — eleven  long  years 
— against  the  protest  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Democratic  party. 
But  Mr.  Belmont  was  a  liberal  subscriber  to  the  presidential  cam- 
paign fund,  which  covered  a  multitude  of  sins. 

Senator  T.  F.  Bayard  had  served  as  a  clerk  for  eight  years 
under  Mr.  August  Belmon — therefore  one  good  turn  deserved  an- 
other— even  had  the  people  to  suffer  in  consequence. 

Through  the  action  of  Senators  Sherman  and  Bayard,  sided 
by  Mr.  Belmont,  as  his  position  of  Chairman  of  the  Democratic 
national  executive  committee  gave  him  great  influence,  Congress 
enacted  laws  to  fund  the  legal  tenders  into  interest-bearing  bonds. 
Thus  was  to  be  taken  away  very  largely  the  debt-paying  power 
from  the  people  which  was  enabling  them  to  so  successfully  run 
their  industries. 


46 

To  facilitate  this  matter  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ap- 
pointed a  syndicate,  who  were  paid  a  very  liberal  commission, 
composed  of  August  Belmont,  Jesse  Seligman,  Jay  Cook,  Drexel  & 
Co.,  First  National  Bank  of  New  York. 

August  Belmont,  the  head  and  front  of  this  sysndicate,  was 
a  prominent  banker  and  bullion  broker  of  New  York  City,  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  national  executive  committee  and  one  of 
the  heaviest  contributors  to  the  Democratic  campaign  fund.  Also, 
fiscal  agent  of  the  Rothchilds,  the  leading  bankers  and  heaviest 
dealers  in  gold,  silver  and  copper  in  the  world. 

Jesse  Seligman  was  a  prominent  banker  and  broker  of  New 
York  city,  a  leading  Republican  and  heavy  contributor  to  the  cam- 
fund;  also  fiscal  agent  of  Seligman  Bros.,  prominent  bankers  and 
bullion  dealers  of  Paris.  Mr.  Seligman  was  in  1892  sent  by  Presi- 
dent Harrison  to  Europe  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  pros- 
pect of  international  bimetalism.  His  report  was  against  the 
measure  as  not  feasible  and  not  desirable.  Self-interest  was  too 
strong  to  do  otherwise.  Therefore  the  people  have  had  to  con- 
tinue to  suffer  in  consequence  of  his  judgment  against  silver  coin- 
age. 

Drexel  &  Co.  were  leading  stock,  bullion  and  exchange  brok- 
ers of  Philadelphia. 

Jay  Cook  was  a  private  banker  of  Washington  city,  who  was 
prominent  in  effecting  large  loans  for  the  government  during  the 
war  of  the  rebellion.  He  was  the  very  first  prominent  person 
that  failed  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  panic  of  1873,  caused  by  the 
heavy  contraction  of  the  money  circulation,  in  which  work  he  was 
one  of  the  principal  parties.  His  failure  was  said  to  be  for 
$7,000,000,  and  his  property  was  turned  over  to  a  receiver,  who 
not  being  able  to  dispose  of  it,  owing  to  the  great  scarcity  of 
money,  held  it  until  the  panic  ceased,  when  after  settling  all 
debts,  the  receiver  turned  over  in  1881  to  Jay  Cook  property  of 
the  value  of  $9,000,000.  Mr.  Cook  afterwards  lived  in  his  palatial 
castle,  "Ongontz",  near  Philadelphia  and,  it  has  been  reported, 
now  sees  the  folly  and  wreckage  of  that  contraction  policy;  also, 
that  he  is  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at 
16  to  1,  without  awaiting  the  action  of  any  European  government. 

First  National  Bank  of  New  York,  one  of  the  leading  banks 
of  that  city,  gained  great  notoriety  from  the  enormous  sums  of 
government  money  deposited  in  it  by  John  Sherman,  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  which  enabled  that  bank  to  loan  vast  sums  and  pay 
very  large  dividends  to  the  stockholders. 

The  syndicate  accomplished  their  work  expeditiously  and 
thoroughly  and  in  a  short  time  the  national  banks  were  deprived 
of  all  their  interest  bearing  legal  tenders,  which  they  had  been 
holding  that  enabled  them  to  keep  out  and  in  active  circulation 
the  greenback.  Thereafter  the  banks  were  required  to  take  in 
and  hold  the  greenbacks  for  their  legal  reserves.  Also  trust  and 
insurance  companies  were  forced  to  part  with  their  interest  bear- 
ing legal  tenders  and  afterwards  held  greenbacks  for  urgency 
money.  Which  funding  measure  contracted  the  legal  money  en- 
ormously. 

This  funding  scheme  and  syndicate  business  was  a  wonderful 
piece  of  financial  jobbery,  all  in  the  interest  of  the  money  power 
of  this  country  and  Europe.  They  were  for  awhile  enabled  to 
buy  $2.85  in  greenbacks  with  $1  in  gold,  then  have  them  funded 
into  6  per  cent,  bonds,  and  thus  receive  about  17  per  cent,  interest 


47 

on  the  gold  dollar  invested.  They  could  then  secure  a  national 
bank  charter  and  hypothecate  their  bonds  with  the  government 
and  receive  90  per  cent,  in  national  bank  notes,  which  they  loaned 
to  the  people  at  7  to  10  per  cent,  interest,  giving  them  fully  25 
per  cent,  interest  on  their  original  investment,  one  of  the  worst 
money  making  arrangements  ever  perpetrated  upon  a  free  people. 

FUNDING  SCHEME. 

The  Act  of  July  14,  1870  (Statutes  16,  p.  2721).  This  act 
authorized  the  issue  and  sale  of  $1,500,000,000  United  States 
bonds,  to  refund  the  5-20  bonds;  $200,000,000  were  to  bear  5 
per  cent;  $300,000,000  were  to  bear  4^  per  cent;  $1,000,000,- 
000  were  to  bear  4  per  cent. 

Both  principal  and  interest  were  made  payable  in  the 
standard  coin  of  the  United  States,  which  included  both  silver 
coin  and  gold  coin.  The  silver  dollar  coin,  under  the  coinage 
law  of  1792,  was  the  unit  of  the  money  of  account,  and  standard 
of  payment  in  the  United  States. 

THE  WHOLE  COUNTRY  NEEDED  MONEY. 

That  funding  scheme  law  should  never  have  been  enacted, 
as  the  people  North  and  South  were  suffering  for  the  want  of 
money  to  build  up  every  section.     The  South  was  still  a  wreck. 

The  work  of  contracting  the  money  circulation  went  on  with 
great  expedition;  also,  the  exportation  of  gold  and  silver  contin- 
ued enormously  large.  Our  country  had  been  nearly  drained  of 
its  metallic  money,  which  had  been  kept  up  with  but  very  little 
intermission  since  1851. 

EXPORTS  OP  GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

From  1851  to  1873  inclusive,  the  exports  of  gold  and  silver 
from  our  country  amounted  to  the  immensely  vast  sum  of 
$1,073,434,983  net.  (See  mint  report  of  1895,  pp.  294  and  295). 
A  most  frightful  drain  of  the  metallic  money  by  the  Money 
Power,  to  the  end  of  Johnson's  administration,  and  who  was 
responsible  for  the  action  of  the  syndicate  crowd. 

GENERAL    U.    S.    GRANT. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1869,  U.  S.  Grant  was  inaugurated 
President.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  the  world  and 
the  principal  man  in  restoring  peace  to  the  country.  President 
Grant  went  into  office  under  very  unfavorable  conditions,  there 
being  laws  enacted  by  Congress  in  1865,  during  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Johnson,  creating  a  most  frightful  system  of 
contraction  of  the  currency,  and  the  appointment  of  a  syndicate 
headed  by  Belmont  to  conduct  the  business. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  Senator  John  Sherman 
were  supposed  to  be  the  managers  of  the  finances,  and  the  matter 
left  in  their  hands.  They  were  both  contractionists  and  worked 
for  the  Money  Power,  just  as  Belmont  and  Bayard  managed. 

SILVER  DEMONETIZED. 

The  European  money  kings,  through  paid  attorneys  in  and 
out  of  Congress,  not  content  with  the  wreckage  they  had  caused 
and  were  still  causing,  most  deliberately  in  this  hour  of  contrac- 
tion, when  depreciated  national  bank  notes  and  greenbacks  only 
remained  in  circulation,  went  to  work  without  warning  to  the 


48 

people,  secretly  succeeded  in  having  Congress,  on  the  12th  of 
February,  1873,  drop  the  standard  silver  dollar  of  412  ^^  grains 
from  the  coinage  law,  then  substitute  and  adopt  in  its  place  the 
bastard  trade  dollar  of  420  grains,  which  was  declared  to  be  solely 
for  the  Asiatic  trade,  a  blind  and  a  fraud. 

Their  object  was  to  take  away  the  unlimited  demand  for 
silver  bullion  for  coinage  at  the  mint  at  about  $1.29  per  ounce, 
where  it  had  been  coined  for  eighty-one  years,  and  thus  force  the 
price *of  silver  bullion  down  to  a  low  figure,  which  would  enable 
them  to  make  big  profits  through  its  exportation  to  Asiatic  coun- 
tries where  free  coinage  existed.  These  bullion  dealers  have  got 
the  price  down  now  to  about  50  cents  per  ounce,  its  present  com- 
mercial value  (September  1st,  1908,),  and  now  make  immense 
profits.  This  action  against  silver  was  another  wonderful  piece 
of  financial  jobbery  in  the  interest  of  the  money  kings  of  Europe. 
This  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  was  the  most  astounding,  un- 
accountable, unfortunate  and  disastrous  to  the  people  ever  per- 
petrated and  should  have  been  undone  immediately,  after  it  was 
discovered. 

It  was  reported  when  the  deed  was  discovered,  that  it  was 
accomplished  through  the  work  of  Senators  Thomas  F.  Bayard  and 
John  Sherman,  and  August  Belmont,  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
national  executive  committee,  and  fiscal  agent  of  the  Rothschilds, 
heaviest  operators  in  silver  bullion  of  the  world  and  the  monop- 
olists of  silver  bullion;  who  not  having  any  competitor  able  to 
cope  with  them,  have  regulated  its  price  as  a  commodity  and  made 
most  enormous  profits  through  its  wrongful  depreciation  in  value, 
caused  solely  by  the  unlimited  demand  having  been  taken  from 
it  for  coinage  at  our  mints  at  about  $1.29  per  ounce. 

Neither  European  nor  Asiatic  countries  produce  silver  bullion 
of  any  consequence,  therefore  they  have  to  buy  it  for  coinage 

,i  from   the   countries   of   the   western   hemisphere   and    Australia, 

;    which  produce  the  great  bulk.     They  should  be  made  to  pay  its 
j  coinage  value.     Then  the  bullion  buyers  would  cease  to  make  the 

['  immense  profit  between  the  commercial  and  coinage  values.  The 
coinage  at  16  to  1  by  the  United  States  would  settle  the  matter 
permanently. 

Congress    should    restore    the    unlimited    coinage    of    silver 

,  bullion  at  about  16  to  1,  then  it  would  at  once  appreciate  from 
its  commercial  value  of  about  50  cents  per  ounce  to  its  coinage 
value  of  about  $1.29  cents  per  ounce  and  remain  permanently  at 
a  parity  with  gold  bullion,  say  about  $20.67  per  ounce  for  gold 
bullion  and  about  $1.29  per  ounce  for  silver  bullion,  thus  making 
the  parity  of  sixteen  ounces  of  pure  silver  bullion  to  one  ounce 
of  pure  gold  bullion.  Gold  bullion  now  settles  balances  due  Euro- 
peans at  its  coinage  value  of  $20.67  per  ounce  as  fixed  by  the  laws 
of  the  United  States.  If  Congress  would  restore  the  unlimited  coin- 
age of  silver  bullion  at  about  $1.29  per  ounce,  as  it  had  existed  for 
81  years,  it  would  thereafter  enable  the  settling  of  the  enorm- 

'  ously  large  balance  in  trade  against  our  country  for  teas,  silks, 
spices,  coffee,  rice,  etc.,  and  labor  to  Asiatics,  and  save  a  very 
large  export  of  gold.  Our  government  could  charge  about  5  per 
cent  for  the  coinage  of  the  silver.     It  coins  gold  free  of  charge. 

After  the  accomplishment  of  the  surreptitious  and  fraudu- 
lent work  of  suspending  the  coinage  of  the  standard  silver  dollar, 
the  Government  U.  S.  bonds  to  the  extent  of  some  $2,000,000,000, 
which  were  payable  principal  and  interest  in  coin,  that  is,  silver 


49 

or  gold  coin,  would  thereafter  be  required  to  be  paid  in  gold  coin 
exclusively.  There  is  where  Senator  Sherman  hid  the  negro  in 
the  woodpile,  yes,  got  in  his  devilish  work. 

GENERAL  U.  S.  GRANT. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1873,  U.  S.  Grant  was  inaugurated 
President  for  a  second  term. 

The  contraction  policy  of  Senator  Sherman  under  Belmont 
et  al.  was  being  most  seriously  felt  all  over  the  country.  The 
withholding  of  a  very  large  amount  ($94,000,000)  of  United 
States  notes  in  the  Treasury  was  a  serious  blunder,  and  when 
made  known  to  President  Grant  was  ordered  restored  to  circula- 
tion. 

ENORMOUS  EXPORT  OF  GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

From  July  1st,  1862,  to  July  1st,  1873,  $695,397,224  net  of 
gold  and  silver  was  exported  (see  report  Mint  Director  1895,  pages 
294  and  295). 

DISASTROUS  FINANCIAL  PANIC  1873. 

Finally  the  tornado  of  contraction  caused  by  the  enormous 
funding  of  Belmont  et  al.  into  bonds  of  the  interest-bearing  legal 
tenders,  the  large  reduction  in  the  volume  of  the  greenbacks,  and 
the  vast  exportation  of  gold  and  silver,  burst  forth  with  all  its 
fury  throughout  the  country. 

JAY  COOK  FAILURE. 

The  first  heavy  failure  was  that  of  Jay  Cook,  on  the  13th  of 
September,  1873,  one  of  the  funding  syndicates,  for  $7,000,000, 
followed  by  the  suspension  to  pay  depositors  by  every  national 
bank,  except  the  Chemical  National  Bank,  and  a  few  others  in 
other  sections.  Also  by  pretty  much  all  the  state  and  private 
banks. 

GREENBACKS. 

Fortunately  for  the  banks  as  well  as  the  people,  the  banks 
were  on  a  greenback  basis,  in  lieu  of  a  specie  basis.  Therefore 
they  were  enabled,  with  but  few  exceptions,  to  resume  payment 
to  depositors  in  about  seven  weeks.  Also  the  National  bank  notes, 
which  are  not  a  lagal  tender  to  pay  debts,  were  redeemable  in 
Greenbacks,  in  lieu  of  coin,  which  saved  our  people  from  a  terrible 
aflQiction.  Had  the  banks  been  on  a  specie  basis,  as  they  were  in 
1837  and  1857,  in  lieu  of  a  greenback  basis,  the  panic  would  hav6 
been  frightfully  more  severe  and  the  banks  could  not  have  recov- 
ered for  many  years.  How  providential  for  the  people  that  they 
were  then  afforded  the  use  of  the  greenback  issued  by  our  gov- 
ernment. The  greenback  saved  our  nation  from  destruction  by 
the  war  and  saved  the  banks  from  destruction  from  the  panic. 
During  the  suspension  of  the  banks  for  the  seven  weeks,  green- 
backs commanded  from  1 1/^  to  2  per  cent  premium.  United 
States  notes  made  a  full  legal  tender,  and  backed  up  by  the  wealth 
of  the  nation,  are  far  superior  to  all  bank  notes  backed  up  by 
specie  or  bonds.  When  the  specie  is  exported  the  banks  burst 
and  their  notes  become  worthless,  and  the  depositors  and  note- 
holders pocket  the  enormous  losses. 

To  enable  the  bank  to  get  out  of  the  hole  they  issued 
$30,000,000  Clearing  House  Certificates,  an  illegal  currency. 
Had  Congress  directed  the  issue  of  about  $400,000,000  in  U.  S. 


50 

notes,  and  paid  them  out  for  internal  improvements,  the  entire 
country  would  have  had  complete  relief  in  short  order.  The  dis- 
astrous panic  which  broke  out  in  1873  lasted  until  1879,  relief 
coming  then  through  a  large  increase  of  the  circulation,  which 
should  have  been  made  by  a  creation  of  greenbacks  by  the  gov- 
ernment when  the  money  stringency  was  first  felt. 

FRIGHTFUL  CONTRACTION. 

Here  is  a  statement  in  regard  to  the  decrease  in  the  volume 
of  money,  taken  from  the  "Inter  Ocean"  in  1878,  then  a  leading 
Republican  newspaper  of  Chicago: 


Year 

Currency 

Population 

per 
Capita 

1865 

$1,651,282,273 

34,819,581 

$47.42 

1866 

1,803,702,726 

35,537,148 

50.76 

1867 

1,330,414,677 

36,269,502 

36.68 

1868 

817,199,773 

37,026,949 

22.08 

1869 

750,025,989 

37,779.989 

19.85 

1870 

740,039,179 

38,588,371 

19.19 

1871 

734,244,774 

39,750,003 

18.47 

1872 

736,340,912 

40,978,606 

17.97 

1873 

733,291,740 

42,245,110 

17.48 

1874 

779,031,589 

43,550,756 

17.89 

1875 

778,186,250 

44,896,705 

17.33 

1876 

735,358,832 

46,284,344 

15.89 

1877 

696,443,394 

47,714,829 

14.60 

WAGES  LOWER. 

After  the  failure  of  Jay  Cook  in  1873  bankruptcies  increased 
to  a  fearful  extent,  salaries  and  wages  went  down  very  low,  idle- 
ness, poverty  and  crime  increased  rapidly,  and  real  estate  de- 
creased heavily  in  value.  Thus  our  country  was  again  placed  in 
a  terribly  sad  plight,  all  owing  to  its  most  worthless  financial 
system.  This  wretched  condition  of  affairs  continued  on  the  down 
grade  from  bad  to  worse  until  the  fall  of  1878,  in  the  same  ratio 
with  the  rapid  decrease  in  the  volume  of  money  from  the  chan- 
nels of  trade,  say  from  about  $50  per  capita  in  1865  to  about  $15 
in  the  spring  of  1878. 

A  large  decrease  of  the  money  volume  destroys  confidence, 
brings  on  heavy  increase  in  bankruptcies,  wreckage  of  the  banks, 
idleness,  reduction  in  salaries  and  wages  and  a  financial  panic  of 
several  years  duration.  As  a  proof  of  this  assertion  look  back  at 
the  several  frightful  panics  that  have  occurred  in  our  country 
during  the  past. 

FAILURES  INCREASING. 

Also  the  failures  increased  with  the  decrease  in  the  volume 
of  money.  Bradstreets  reported  the  failures  during  this  de- 
pression, to-wit: 

1873     5,184 

1874     5,830 

1875     7,740 

1876     9,092 

1877     8,872 

1878     10,478 


Total    47,195 


51 

In  1877  about  3,000,000  people  were  estimated  to  be  out  ol 
employment,  and  competing  with  the  employed  for  work,  thus 
causing  a  reduction  in  wages,  which  caused  great  poverty,  misery, 
and  crime  to  prevail  all  over  our  land. 

Here  are  a  few  instances  showing  the  heavy  decline  in  value 
of  real  estate  that  prevailed  almost  everywhere  throughout  our 
country.     The  "Baltimore  American"  published  the  following: 

"Remarkable  Decline  in  Value — The  three-story  brick  build' 
ing  on  the  west  side  of  Calhoun,  near  Prestman  street,  sold  by 
F.  W.  Bennett  &  Co.  on  Thursday  for  $400,  has  a  history  that 
strikingly  illustrates  the  decline  in  real  estate.  Several  years 
ago  it  sold  for  $3500;  then  it  was  sold  by  Kirkland  under  a  mort- 
gage foreclosure  for  $2100.  About  twelve  months  later  it  was 
sold  again  by  Bennett  for  $900;  and  now  it  is  sold  for  $400,  It 
is  assessed  at  $2,300."  The  writer  of  this  pamphlet,  while  re- 
siding in  Baltimore,  witnessed  the  following  sales:  The  immense 
brick  block  belonging  to  the  Calvert  S.  R.  Co.,  which  cost  $1,275,- 
000,  was  sold  for  $75,000.  In  October,  1877,  the  substantial  five- 
story  brick  block  covering  about  ten  lots,  which  cost  Woods, 
Weeks  &  Co  $750,000,  was  sold  for  $52,600. 

Money  was  scarce,  and  a  consequence  property,  employment 
and  wages  were  at  a  low  ebb.  Yet  the  bankers  told  the  people 
then  that  there  was  an  abundance  of  money.  They  are  still  re- 
peating the  old  story.     It  never  gets  stale. 

PETER  COOPER. 

The  venerable  Peter  Cooper,  an  eminent  financier  and  a  very 
prosperous  man,  who  built  the  first  locomotive  in  this  country, 
and  which  he  ran  over  the  railroad  built  from  Baltimore  to 
Elliotts  Mills,  was  in  1876  nominated  for  President  on  the  Reform 
Ticket,  called  "Greenback"  in  derision  by  the  two  old  parties. 

JESSE  GILLMORE. 

At  a  convention  of  about  800  members  of  the  Greenback 
party  held  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  Jesse  Gillmore,  the  author  of  this 
work,  was  named  an  elector-at-large  for  the  state  of  Maryland 
upon  the  Peter  Cooper  ticket.  I  stumped  the  state  for  financial 
reform,  pleading  for  a  cessation  of  the  contraction  policy  that  was 
then  withering  all  our  industries  and  forcing  intense  idleness 
among  the  people.  I  advocated  the  restoration  of  the  unlimited 
coinage  of  silver  at  16  to  1,  as  it  had  existed  for  81  years,  also  a 
large  issue  of  greenbacks  by  our  government,  as  the  only  remedy 
to  restore  confidence  and  bring  back  prosperity.  At  Hagerstown, 
in  October  of  that  year,  while  addressing  the  people,  I  called 
United  States  Senator  Hamilton  and  Representative  Roberts, 
M.  C,  who  were  present,  to  account  for  having  voted  to  demone- 
tize silver  on  February  12,  1873,  also  having  voted  for  the  bill 
which  took  the  legal  value  from  the  trade  dollar  in  July,  18  76, 
thus  taking  away  its  debt  paying  power  and  forcing  it  thereafter 
to  be  sold  as  bullion.  Both  denied  any  knowledge  of  the  facts, 
but  I  showed  them  the  congressional  records  proving  the  passage 
by  Congress.  I  told  them  that  in  so  voting  they  had  been  derelict 
in  their  duty  to  the  people. 

The  people  could  not  be  awakened  from  their  lethargy.  They 
did  not  realize  that  the  contracted  circulation  of  the  money  was 
the  main  cause  of  all  their  ills,  but  insisted  on  discussing  the 
tarifC.     Politicians  would  discuss  that  issue  and  no  other,  being 


52 

lawyers  and  knowing  nothing  about  finance.  The  panic  went  on 
and  the 'people  suffered  from  its  torments.  Fully  5,000  votes 
were  cast,  but  were  returned,  "Scattering." 

HON.  ^^^.  D.  KELLEY. 

•.^  Mr.  Kelley  of  Philadelphia,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Rrepre- 

vsentatives  and  I,  were  on  very  good  terms.  We  met  at  times 
in  the  Capitol  and  discussed  the  money  question  and  the  then 
prevailing  panic  of  1873.  He  said  that  I  was  the  best  posted 
man  on  the  subject  that  he  had  ever  met  with,  and  h^  would  be 
pleased  were  I  holding  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

CRITICISMS  OF  CONGRESSMEN. 

Here  is  a  synopsis  of  the  history  of  the  vile  transactions  in 
regard  to  silver  as  taken  from  tne  Congressional  Records,  in  re- 
gard to  the  demonetization  of  silver  by  Act  of  Congress,  February 
12,  1873.  Those  who  were  members  of  Congress  at  tne  time  of 
the  passage  of  the  law  have  over  and  over  again  denounced  it  as  a 
"fraud;"  also  "doctored  bill,"  and  deny  having  any  knowledge 
of  its  intention  to  demonetized  silver. 

Here  is  what  Senators  Allison,  Bogy,  Morgan,  Beck  and 
Bright,  who  were  in  the  Senate  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the 
law,  have  had  to  say  in  the  Senate  on  the  subject,  after  it  was 
found  out  that  the  bill  suspended  the  coinage  of  the  standard 
silver  dollar  and  demonetized  silver: 

"Why  the  act  of  1873,  which  forbids  the  coinage  of  the 
silver  dollar,  was  passed  no  one  at  this  day  can  give  a  good 
reason." — (Senator  Bogy  of  Missouri,  in  Congressional  Record, 
volume  4,  part  5,  Forty-fourth  Congress,  first  session,  page  4178.) 

"Did  the  people  demonetize  silver?  Never!  It  cannot  even 
be  fairly  said  that  Congress  did  it.  It  was  done  in  a  corner 
darkly.  It  was  done  at  the  instigation  of  the  bondholders  and 
other  money  kings,  who  now,  with  upturned  eyes,  deplore  the 
wickedness  we  exhibit  in  asking  the  question  even,  who  did  the 
great  wrong  against  the  toiling  millions  of  our  people?" — (Sen- 
ator Morgan,  in  Congressional  Record,  December  12,  1877,  page 
144.) 

"But  when  the  secret  history  of  this  bill  of  1873  comes  to  be 
told,  it  will  disclose  the  fact  that  the  House  of  Representatives 
intended  to  coin  both  gold  and  silver,  and  intended  to  place  both 
metals  upon  the  French  relation  instead  of  our  own,  which  was 
the  true  scientific  position  with  reference  to  this  subject  in  1873, 
but  that  the  bill  afterward  was  doctored,  if  I  may  use  the  term, 
and  I  use  it  in  no  offensive  sense,  of  course 

"I  said  I  used  the  word  in  no  offensive  sense.  It  was 
changed  after  the  discussion,  and  the  dollar  of  420  grains  was 
substituted  for  it." — (Senator  Allison,  in  Congressional  Record, 
volume  7,  part  2,  Forty-fifth  Congress,  second  session,  page 
1085). 

"It  (the  bill  demonetizing  silver)  never  was  understood  by 
either  house  of  Congress.  I  say  that  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
facts.  No  newspaper  reporter — and  they  are  the  most  vigilant 
men  I  ever  saw  in  obtaining  information — discovered  that  it  had 
been  done." — (Senator  Beck  of  Kentucky,  in  Congressional 
Record,  volume  7,  part  1,  Forty-fifth  Congress,  second  session, 
page  260). 

"It  passed  by  fraud  in  the  house,  never  having  been  printed 


53 

in  advance,  being  a  substitute  for  the  printed  bill;  never  having 
been  read  at  the  clerk's  desk,  the  reading  having  been  dispensed 
with  by  an  impression  that  the  bill  made  no  material  alteration 
in  the  coinage  law;  it  was  passed  without  discussion,  debate  being 
cut  off  by  operation  of  the  previous  question.  It  was  passed,  to 
my  certain  information,  under  such  circumstances  that  the  fraud 
escaped  the  attention  of  some  of  the  most  watchful  as  well  as  the 
ablest  statesmen  in  Congress  at  the  time  *  *  *  Aye,  sir,  it 
was  a  fraud  that  smells  to  heaven.  It  was  a  fraud  that  will  stink 
in  the  nose  of  posterity,  and  for  which  some  persons  must  account 
in  the  day  of  retribution." — (Mr.  Bright  of  Tennessee,  in  Con- 
gressional Record,  vol.  7,  part  1,  second  session.  Forty-fifth  Con- 
gress, page  584). 

Also  read  what  Representatives  Burchard,  Holman  and 
Cannon,  who  were  in  the  House  when  the  law  was  enacted,  have 
had  to  say  in  the  House: 

The  coinage  act  of  1873,  unaccompanied  by  any  written  re- 
port upon  the  subject  from  any  committee,  and  unknown  to  the 
members  of  Congress,  who  without  opposition  allowed  it  to  pass 
under  the  belief,  if  not  assurance,  that  it  made  no  alteration  in 
the  value  of  the  current  coins,  changed  the  unit  of  value  from 
silver  to  gold." — (Mr.  Burchard  of  Illinois,  in  Congressional 
Record,  July  13,  1876,  page  584). 

"I  have  before  me  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  this  House 
on  the  passage  of  that  measure,  which  no  man  can  read  without 
being  convinced  that  the  measure  and  the  method  of  its  passage 
through  this  House  was  a  colossal  swindle.  I  assert  that  the  meas- 
ure never  had  the  sanction  of  this  House,  and  it  does  not  now 
possess  the  moral  force  of  law." — (Mr.  Holman  of  Indiana,  in 
Congressional  Record,  vol.  4,  part  6,  Forty-fourth  Congress,  first 
session  appendix,  page  193). 

"This  legislation  was  had  in  the  Forty-second  Congress, 
February  12,  1873,  by  a  bill  to  regulate  the  mints  of  the  United 
States  and  practically  abolished  silver  as  money  by  failing  to  pro- 
vide for  the  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar.  It  was  not  discussed, 
as  shown  by  the  Record,  and  neither  members  of  Congress  nor  the 
people  understood  the  scope  of  the  legislation." — (Joseph  Cannon, 
in  Congressional  Record,  vol.  4,  part  6,  Forty-fourth  Congress, 
first  session,  appendix,  page  193). 

Can  any  honest  and  candid  man,  after  reading  the  above, 
otherwise  than  agree  with  Senator  Allison,  "that  the  bill  was 
doctored?"  Or  with  Representative  Holman,  "that  the  measure 
and  the  method  of  its  passage  through  the  House  was  a  colossal 
swindle?" 

President  Grant,  who  signed  the  act,  was  not  even  aware 
that  it  affected  the  coinage  of  the  standard  silver  dollar,  and  it 
was  reported  afterwards  on  several  occasions  that  he  wondered 
why  silver  was  not  being  coined  largely. 

The  demonetization  of  silver  was  brought  about  by  an  act 
of  Congress,  passed  on  the  12th  of  February,  1873.  Our  country 
was  then  in  the  throes  of  a  wide-spreading,  desolating  financial 
panic,  and  a  dark  pall  hung  over  our  land,  caused  by  the  enorm- 
ous contraction  of  the  money  volume.  The  gold  and  silver  had 
been  almost  entirely  exported  from  our  country;  only  a  small 
amount  of  gold  remained,  which  was  held  mainly  by  the  fiscal 
agents  of  European  bankers,  to  sell  to  those  of  our  merchants 
who  had  custom  duties  to  pay,  which  was  required  in  gold  coin. 


54 

The  circulation  our  people  were  using  was  a  limited  amount  of 

•  depreciated   national   bank   notes   and    greenbacks.      Our    people 

were  greatly  in  need  of  metallic  money,  especially  silver,  to  settle 

our  heavy  Asiatic  balances  for  teas,  silks,  etc.;   also  for  internal 

,  trade. 

SILVER  COINAGE. 

Our  silver  mines  had  just  begun  to  produce  more  largely  of 
silver  bullion,  and  some  of  it  was  being  coined  into  standard 
silver  dollars  under  the  coinage  law  of  January  18,  1837.  From 
July  1,  1871,  to  February  1,  1873,  2,532,336  standard  silver 
dollars  were  coined  at  our  mints  from  silver  bullion  produced  by 
our  mines.  If  this  coinage  of  standard  silver  dollars  had  been 
allowed  to  continue,  it  would  in  a  short  time  have  raised  the  dark 
cloud  of  despair  that  was  then  overhanging  our  country,  and  the 
financial  panic  that  was  crushing  our  merchants  would  have  soon 
been  wiped  out. 

Silver  bullion  then  was  at  a  slight  premium  over  gold.  The 
'  "Money  Kings  of  Europe"  wanted  the  price  down  to  enable  them 
to  make  big  profits  in  its  export  to  Asiatic  countries.  The  only 
way  to  accomplish  their  object  was  to  have  the  coinage  of  the 
stanard  silver  dollar  stopped  at  the  mint.  The  power  behind  the 
throne  went  to  work  and  accomplished  the  deed,  called  the  crime 
of  1873. 

When  the  diabolical  deed  was  found  out  and  brought  up  be- 
fore Congress,  no  one  would  acknowledge  having  participated  in 
the  foul  work. 

BELMONT,  BAYARD  AND  SHERMAN. 

A  publication  showing  up  the  transaction,  made  afterwards, 
purporting  to  have  been  obtained  from  an  ofllcial,  charged  it 
against  August  Belmont,  fiscal  agent  of  Rothschild,  and  then 
chirman  of  the  Democratic  National  Executive  Committee;  Sena- 
tors John  Sherman  and  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  leading  lawyers  in 
Congress.  The  work  was  successful;  silver  bullion  fell  from 
$1.2  9  to  now  51  cents  per  ounce. 

TRADE  DOLLAR. 

The  trade  dollar,  a  bastard  coin,  legal  tender  to  the  extent 
of  five  dollars,  was  substituted  for  the  stanard  dollar.  It  was 
said  to  be  intended  for  the  China  trade.  Dr.  Linderman,  director 
of  the  mint,  fixed  the  charge  for  coinage  at  1^^  per  cent.  An 
inside  ring  got  control,  and  instead  of  exporting  the  trade  dollars 
put  most  of  them  in  circulation  among  our  people,  where  they 
were  current  near  about  par  with  gold.  But  a  portion  were  ex- 
ported to  China.  This  coinage  kept  the  price  of  bullion  from 
materially  falling,  which  interfered  with  the  interests  of  the 
"Money  Kings  of  Europe,"  consequently  Senator  Bayard  intro- 
duced a  bill  in  Congress  taking  the  legal  tender  value  from  the 
trade  dollar,  which  was  enacted  into  a  law  on  July  22,  1876.  Im- 
mediately after  the  banks  refused  to  receive  them  on  deposits,  and 
our  merchants  and  working  people,  who  had  received  them  at  par, 
were  forced  to  sell  them  at  a  heavy  loss,  as  so  much  silver  bullion. 
The  bullion  dealers  bought  them  up.  After  a  time  a  law  was 
enacted  by  Congress  directing  their  redemption  at  their  face 
^alue. 


55 
LAW  CREATES  MONEY. 

Thus  the  law  makes  and  unmakes  money.  After  the  sus- 
pension of  the  coinage  of  the  trade  dollar  the  price  of  silver 
bullion  began  to  fall.  The  "Money  Kings  of  Europe"  had  accom- 
plished their  object.  The  standard  silver  dollar  contained  412  i/^" 
grains  gross  and  the  trade  dollar  420  grains  gross.  When  the 
coinage  of  the  standard  silver  dollar  ceased  silver  bullion  was 
worth  about  its  coinage  value,  then  why  should  a  heavier  dollar 
have  ben  substituted?  If  the  trade  dollar  was  intended  for  ex- 
port, why  was  it  permitted  to  have  any  legal  value?  Why  was  it 
permitted  to  be  put  in  circulation  in  our  country?  The  inner  ring 
that  had  control  can  answer  those  questions. 

There  was  a  foul  taint  to  the  entire  transaction.  Our  people 
were  not  benefited  by  the  vicious  laws.  No;  they  have  lost  over 
a  thousand  million  dollars  through  the  demonetization  of  silver. 
Who  has  profited  by  the  transaction?  European  governments, 
also  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe,"  Yet  politicians  will  not  undo 
the  fraudulent  work  unless  the  European  governments  consent, 
when  they  know  full  well  that  so  long  as  they  can  make  big 
profits  out  of  the  suspension  of  the  coinage  of  silver  they  never 
will  consent. 

BENEFITS  OP  SILVER  <X)INAGE. 

The  vastly  most  important  question  now  before  the  people  of 
the  United  States  is  the  financial,  and  the  leading  portion  is  that 
of  unrestricted  coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  that  existed  for  81 
years,  and  until  Senator  Sherman  had  it  knocked  out.  All  Europe 
coins  at  $1.33  per  ounce,  our  government  coins  at  $1.29,  giving 
Europeans  4  cents  on  the  dollar  advantage. 

The  benefits  of  the  unrestricted  coinage  of  silver  at  16  to  1 
would  be  immense  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  also  to  man- 
kind throughout  the  world.  (I  will  drop  fractions  of  cents  in 
computing). 

From  the  adoption  by  Congress  of  the  first  coinage  law,  in 
1792,  up  to  the  adoption  of  the  coinage  law  of  1873,  both  silver 
bullion  and  gold  bullion  had  unlimited  and  unrestricted  coinage 
at  our  mints  at  a  fixed  ratio,  with  but  slight  changes  as  made  in 
the  coinage  laws  adopted  after.  The  coinage  law  of  1837  fixed 
the  value  of  pure  gold  bullion  at  $20.67  per  ounce,  payable  in 
gold  coin,  and  that  of  pure  silver  bullion  at  $1.29  per  ounce,  pay- 
able in  silver  coin,  therefore  the  bullion  in  both  metals  was  main- 
tained, with  but  slight  variations,  at  the  value  fixed  by  that 
coinage  law,  say  $20.67  per  ounce  for  pure  gold  bullion  and  $1.29 
per  ounce  for  pure  silver  bullion,  or  16  to  1  (one  ounce  of  pure 
gold  bullion  for  16  ounces  of  pure  silver  bullion).  The  coinage 
law  of  1873  continued  the  unlimited  coinage  of  gold  bullion  at 
$20.67  per  ounce,  therefore  its  value  has  been  maintained;  but 
the  unlimited  and  unrestricted  coinage  of  silver  bullion  at  $1.29^ 
per  ounce  was  stopped;  therefore,  as  the  fixed  money  value  of 
silver  bullion,  given  it  by  our  government,  was  taken  away,  it  had 
to  be  sold  on  the  market  as  a  commodity,  and  the  price  fell  from 
$1.29  per  ounce  to  51  cents  per  ounce,  at  which  price  the  govern- 
ments of  Europe,  which  do  not  produce  silver  bullion,  are  now 
buying  and  having  it  coined  into  legal  tender  silver  coins  at  15l^ 
to  1  and  less,  making  the  enormous  profit  of  over  100  per  cent. 
Also  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe"  are  making  enormous  profits 
dealing    in    it.      The    "Financial    Chronicle"    reported    that    the 


56 

Rothschilds  made  $80,000,000  profit  in  the  conversion  of  Austria- 
Hungary  to  a  gold  basis.  They  have  made  a  loan  for  China  on  a 
gold  basis;  they  have  now  the  United  States  and  Japan  on  a  gold 
basis;  also,  with  Bleichroeder,  they  have  Mexico  in  their 
clutches  to  the  extent  of  about  $250,000,000  in  gold  bonds  bear- 
ing mostly  6l^  per  cent  interest,  and  Argentina  with  gold  bonds 
amounting  to  $225,000,000.  They  are  successful  in  such 
enormous  conversions  for  gold.  They  got  Mexico  and  Chile  on  a 
gold  basis,  reducing  their  silver  dollars  to  50  cents  each.  The 
shrinkage  in  value  of  silver  bullion  has  been  great,  only  used  for 
fractional  coinage  and  the  arts.  The  further  shrinkage  in  pro- 
ducts and  wages  will  be  large.  The  great  masses  of  the  people 
will  be  engulfed  in  poverty;  the  Rothschilds  will  continue  to  rise 
as  a  power  of  the  world,  like  King  Solomon  of  old,  whose  magnifi- 
cent temple  is  said  to  have  contained  gold,  silver  and  brass  orna- 
ments of  the  value  of  $35,000,000,000. 

Are  our  people  content  to  surrender  their  liberties  for  the 
use  of  gold? 

SENATOR  JOHN  SHERMAN. 

Senator  Sherman,  in  his  notable  speech  delivered  in  1877  be- 
fore the  Republican  Convention  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  said: 

"The  bill  passed  both  houses  and  became  a  law  February 
12th,  1873,  by  practically  a  unanimous  vote  of  both  parties,  and 
was  especially  supported  and  voted  for  by  the  senators  and  mem- 
bers from  the  silver  states.  This  has  been  called  the  'crime  of 
1873,'  and  as  the  bill  was  under  my  charge  in  the  Senate,  I  was 
held  to  be  the  chief  criminal." 

Here  we  have  it!  Senator  Sherman  openly  and  boldly  ad- 
mits that  the  bill  was  under  his  charge  in  the  Senate,  therefore 
he  must  assume  all  responsibility  for  the  great  wrong  done,  and 
the  enormous  losses  resulting  to  our  people  from  the  passage  of 
the  iniquitous  measure.  He  is  the  only  member  of  Congress  who 
participated  in  its  enactment  who  has  come  out  and  acknowledged 
being  aware  of  its  full  purport,  to  drop  the  coinage  of  the  stand- 
ard silver  dollar  and  demonetize  silver.  Those  who  were  members 
of  Congress  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  law  have  over  and 
over  again  denounced  it  as  a  "fraud,"  also  "doctored  bill,"  and 
deny  having  any  knowledge  of  its  intention  to  demonetize  silver. 

History  tells  us  that  about  1805  there  was  but  a  very  limited 
amount  of  either  gold  or  silver  coin  in  circulation  in  our  country; 
that  it  had  been  largely  exported;  that  there  was  not  sufficient 
silver  for  change;  hence  "President  Jefferson  requested  James 
Madison,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  direct  the  suspension  of 
the  coinage  of  the  standard  dollar  until  further  orders,  and  there- 
after to  coin  the  silver  bullion  into  silver  coins  only."  The  subsidi- 
ary coins  were  a  full  legal  tender  for  the  payment  of  debts,  besides 
were  more  needed  by  the  people  than  the  dollar,  and  the  frac- 
tional coins  could  not  be  so  readily  gathered  for  export  as  the 
dollar.  In  1877  John  Sherman  said:  "This  order  of  Jefferson,  I 
suppose,  would  be  called  by  our  populistic  friends,  'the  crime  of 
1805.'  "  For  the  same  reasons  President  Jackson,  in  1835,  re- 
newed the  order  continuing  the  suspension  of  the  coinage  of  the 
standard  silver  dollar.  From  1830  our  gold  coin  had  been  largely 
exported,  and  in  1834  was  continuing  to  be  exported,  hence  Presi- 
dent Jackson  recommended  that  Congress  enact  a  law  for  its 
debasement,  which  was  done.     Jesse  Gillmore,  the  writer,  in  old 


57 

times,  often  bought  the  gold  coins  of  eleven-twelfths  fine,  coined 
previous  to  1834,  and  paid  as  high  as  5  per  cent  premium  for 
them.  Senator  Sherman  further  said:  "This  law  heartily  ap- 
proved by  Andrew  Jackson  would  now  be  called  the  'crime  of 
1834.'  "  But  the  measure  debasing  our  gold  coin  did  not  fully 
accomplish  the  object,  because  by  1837  nearly  all  our  gold  and/ 
silver  coins  had  been  exported,  which  took  from  the  banks  their 
coin  reserves  held  for  deposits  and  bank  note  circulation,  causing 
nearly  all  them  to  fail  and  their  notes  to  become  worthless,  leav- 
ing our  people  without  money;  a  sad  plight  indeed,  but  it  brought 
on  that  most  frightful  and  destructive  panic  of  1837.  President. 
Jackson  was  for  paper  money  to  be  issued  directly  by  the  govern- 
ment and  made  a  legal  tender  to  pay  all  debts.  But  Nick  Biddle 
and  all  the  other  bankers  foiled  him  in  his  attempt.  Both  Jeffer- 
son and  Jackson  were  honest,  patriotic  and  very  able  Presidents, 
but  they  had  that  same  dominating  bank  power  to  contend  with 
that  our  people  now  have. 

Senator  Sherman,  continuing  his  speech,  said:  "In  1853, 
upon  the  report  of  Senator  Hunter,  when  Pierce  was  President 
and  when  all  branches  of  the  government  were  under  Democratic 
control,  Congress  reduced  the  quantity  of  silver  in  the  fractional 
coins  (half  dimes,  dimes,  quarters  and  half  dollars)  more  than 
6  per  cent,  directed  the  purchase  of  the  silver  for  their  free  coin- 
age and  made  them  a  legal  tender  for  $5  only,  leaving  gold  still 
practically  the  only  full  legal  tender  United  States  coin.  This,  I 
suppose,  would  now  be  called  the  'crime  of  1853.'  " 

This  law,  debasing  the  fractional  silver  coins,  was  enacted 
February  21,  1853,  while  Millard  Fillmore  was  President.  Frank- 
lin Pierce  was  not  inaugurated  President  until  March  4,  1853. 
It  was  an  amendment  to  the  coinage  law  of  1837  only  so  far 
as  it  affected  the  fractional  silver  coinage.  The  coinage  of  the 
silver  dollar  and  gold  coins  was  still  left  in  force  under  the  law 
of  1837,  which  was  only  amended  and  not  repealed.  The  amend- 
ment was  a  wise  measure,  as  there  was  only  a  very  limited  amount 
of  silver  left  in  the  country. 

THE  ROTHSCHILDS,  BELMONT  AND  HANAU. 

Rothschild,  shrewd  bullion  dealer,  had  an  agent,  August  Bel- 
mont, in  New  York  City,  and  another,  Isaac  Nathan  Hanau,  in 
New  Orleans,  secretly  buying  up  all  the  silver  to  be  found.  Mr. 
Hanau  paid  as  high  as  5  per  cent  premium  for  Mexican  dollars. 
They  exported  their  purchases  to  Europe.  Finally  our  govern- 
ment got  on  to  the  scheme  and  enacted  the  law  of  1853,  debasing 
our  subsidiary  coins  from  371^4  grains  pure  silver  to  the  dollar 
to  347.22  grains,  to  prevent  their  further  exportation,  but  it  did 
not  accomplish  all  that  was  desired,  as  the  exportation  continued 
and  silver  money  became  very  scarce.  It  was  afterwards  found 
out  that  Rothschild  exported  the  silver  to  China  and  Japan,  whose 
ports  had  been  a  few  years  previously  opened  to  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  and  silver  in  the  beginning  was  5  to  1.  They  made 
enormous  profits  out  of  our  silver. 

VAST  EXPORTS  OF  SPECIE. 

From  1848  to  1853,  $93,313,498  net  in  silver  was  exported 
from  our  country.      (See  Mint  Director's  report,  1895,  page  295). 

From  July  1st,  1848,  to  July  1st,  1857,  the  enormous  sum 
of  $267,968,354  net  in  silver  and  gold  was  exported  from  our 
country.     Taking  from  the  banks  their  specie  basis  caused  over 


58 

800  to  fail,  and  their  bank  notes  to  become  worthless  or  greatly- 
depreciated.  Thus  the  people  were  again  placed  in  the  sad  pre- 
dicament of  being  left  with  little  or  no  money.  Rothschilds,  not 
obtaining  silver  and  gold  fast  enough,  induced  congress  in  1857 
to  demonetize  the  foreign  gold  and  silver  coins  that  were  in 
circulation  among  our  people,  which  added  fuel  to  the  fire  and 
increased  the  frightful  panic  that  was  on  them. 

JOHN  SHERMAN. 

John  Sherman  was  a  sly  and  unscrupulous  man,  and  for  his 
many  actions  of  wrong  doing  while  U.  S.  Senator  and  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  should  have  been  impeached  and  removed  from 
office. 

EXCLUSION  CLAUSE. 

He  secured  the  adoption  of  the  law  excluding  the  U.  S. 
notes  from  paying  custom  duties,  that  forced  them  to  be  sold  at 
a  discount  under  gold  coin,  which  brought  "Black  Friday,"  forc- 
ing the  merchants  to  pay  a  high  premium  for  gold — a  robbery. 
.Very  bad  conditions  generally  were  brought  on  in  this  manner. 

FUNDING   SCHEME. 

He  secured  the  enactment  of  the  law  of  July  14th,  1874, 
authorizing  the  funding  of  about  $2,000,000,000  Government 
securities  into  bonds,  principal  and  interest  payable  in  coin, 
silver  or  gold  coin. 

BELMONT,  SELIGMAN  ET  AL. 

He  secured  the  appointment  of  the  Syndicate  of  five,  com- 
posed of  Belmont,  Seligman  et  al,  to  accomplish  the  funding,  and 
paying  them  heavy  commissions.  There  was  no  need  of  the 
funding,  as  the  people  in  every  section  of  the  country  were  need- 
ing a  greatly  enlarged  circulation. 

UNITED  STATES  NOTES. 

An  issue  by  the  government  in  U.  S.  legal  tender  notes  could 
have  been  created  and  saved  vast  sums  in  interest  upon  bonds. 

THE     SOUTH. 

The  entire  South  had  been  almost  desolated,  and  an  en- 
larged circulation  would  have  been  a  Godsend  to  them,  to  en- 
able them  to  restore  their  section. 

THE  NORTH. 

The  northern  section  of  our  country  was  in  a  very  prosper- 
ous condition,  but  a  greatly  enlarged  circulation  would  have  en- 
abled the  rapid  building  of  railroads,  factories,  and  other  im- 
provements, and  rapidly  insreased  the  wealth. 

NATIONAL  BANKS. 

The  time  and  mind  of  Senator  Sherman  was  solely  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  National  Bank,  in  securing  Government 
issues  of  bonds  at  very  low  costs.  Depositing  vast  sums  of  Gov- 
ernment money  in  the  National  Banks,  and  enabling  those  banks  to 
secure  heavy  interest  upon  the  hypothecated  bonds. 

THE  CRIME  OP  1873. 

His  surreptitious  securing  of  the  dropping  out  of  the  coin- 
age of  the  Standard  Silver  Dollar,  which  had  served  the  people 


59 

very  beneficially  for  81  years,  and  substituting  therefor  the 
bastard  trade  dollar,  which  was  made  a  legal  tender  for  five 
dollars.  This  duplicity  in  substitution  enabled  him  to  accomplish 
the  foul  deed  of  demonetizing  the  Standard  Silver  Dollar. 

GOLD  PAYMENTS. 

After  the  dropping  out  of  the  coinage  of  the  Standard  Silver 
Dollar,  all  the  $2,000,000,000  in  government  , bonds  that  were 
issued  by  the  syndicate  were  payable  still  in  coin,  but  the  silver 
dollars  were  no  longer  to  be  coined,  therefore  the  payment  of  the 
bonds,  principal  and  interest,  had  to  be  paid  in  gold  coin.  A 
damnably  shrewd  scheme  enacted  by  Senator  John  Sherman. 

TRADE  DOLLARS. 

Merchants  began  to  pay  custom  dues  in  Trade  Dollars,  which 
were  a  legal  tender  for  $5.00,  when  Senator  Bayard  on  the  26th 
of  July,  1876  secured  the  repeal  of  the  law.  Thereafter  the  Roths- 
childs had  the  sole  control  of  the  market  for  silver  bullion,  and 
regulated  the  price  ever  after,  which  has  enabled  them  to  make, 
profits  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars. 

THE  HOUSE   OF   ROTHSCHILDS — A   RICH   FAMILY. 

London  press  reports  place  the  wealth  of  the  Rothschilds 
family  at  $2,000,000,000.  There  is  in  fact  but  one  ruler  in 
Europe  and  his  name  is  Rothschild.  The  several  nations  of 
Europe  owe  collectively  about  $20,000,000,000.  Nearly  one-twen- 
tieth of  this  is  held  by  the  Rothschilds. 

In  December,  1890,  the  following  was  published:  "The  story 
told  in  a  leading  eastern  paper,  to  the  effect  that  the  Baring 
Brothers  were  put  in  a  critical  position  by  the  machinations  of  the 
rival  house  of  the  Rothschilds,  who  induced  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment to  suddenly  withdraw  a  deposit  of  5,000,000  pounds  sterling 
from  the  Barings,  a  good  deal  of  admiration  over  the  unselfish 
course  of  the  great  English  financiers  has  been  wasted.  It  is 
true  that  the  Rothschilds  came  to  the  relief  of  the  Barings,  but 
it  is  probable  that  they  did  not  make  a  move  in  that  direction 
until  they  saw  signs  that  they  might  suffer  in  the  crash  which 
they  helped  to  bring  about.  The  more  the  recent  crisis  is  studied, 
the  more  reason  there  is  for  believing  that  English  financial  meth- 
ods are  very  rotten,  and  that  the  country,  owing  to  the  enormous 
expansion  of  the  credit  system,  is  constantly  on  the  brink  of  dis- 
aster." 

The  Rothschilds  have  a  private  mint  and  coin  money  for 
governments,  and  have  coined  largely  for  Russia. 

"Richest  man  in  Germany,  is  Bleichroeder  of  the  Rothschild 
banking  house.  When  Rothschild  went  to  Berlin  in  1829  to  seek 
an  agent  for  his  world  renowned  house,"  says  the  "Chicago  Dis- 
patch»"  "  he  was  led  almost  by  accident  to  a  small  bank  in  a  side 
street,  presided  over  by  Bleichroeder.  The  bank  had  been  estab- 
lished in  1803,  but  had  played  no  part  in  the  financial  history 
of  the  country.  But  the  financier  was  pleased  with  the  apparent 
abilities  of  the  modest  banker,  and  chose  him  as  his  representative 
in  preference  to  others  of  greater  pretensions  and  fame.  The 
selection  was  the  foundation  of  the  success  of  the  house  of 
Bleichroeder.  No  one  could  talk  to  the  banker  without  hearing 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  conversation:  'Yes,  it  is  little 
wonder,  when  one  stood  for  twenty-five  years  behind  the  chair 
of  the  man  who  ruled  Europe.'  " 


60 

This  great  influence  with  Bismarck  accounts  for  the  suspen- 
sion of  coinage  of  silver  by  Germany  in  1871. 

"President  Cleveland,  in  going  to  the  representative  of  the 
Rothschilds  for  financial  help  for  this  government,  has  followed  an 
ancient  precedent.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Rothschilds  to  help 
out  (for  a  consideration)  nations  whose  rulers,  by  their  folly  or 
incompetence,  have  plunged  them  into  financial  distress.  In  that 
business  they  have  become  the  richest  and  most  powerful  family 
in  the  world. 

"The  house  with  which  Mr.  Cleveland  did  business  is  the 
London  branch  of  the  Rothchilds,  through  its  New  York  agent, 
Mr.  Belmont.  Mr.  Belmont  is  of  the  same  race  as  his  principals, 
and  like  them,  too,  is  of  a  family  that  has  changed  its  name. 
When  the  first  Belmont  came  to  New  York  his  name  was  Schoen- 
berg,  which  is  the  German  equivalent  of  Belmont  (beautiful 
mountain).  This  name  in  turn  was  probably  assumed  at  that 
critical  time  in  the  history  of  the  Jews  in  Europe  when  they 
were  given  the  hard  choice  of  purchasing  fine  names  or  assum- 
ing ugly  ones  of  their  enemies'  choosing.  The  Rothschilds'  name 
was  Bauer.  The  newer  title  was  assumed  by  Mayor  Anselm 
Bauer,  the  first  of  the  great  bankers.  It  suits  the  emblem  of 
the  family.      'Red  Shield.' 

IN  POLITICS. 

"A  French  writer  says  of  the  later  history  of  the  House: 
"The  financial  power  of  the  Rothschilds  has  recently  been  com- 
bined with  a  political  power  which,  though  not  publicly  pro- 
claimed, is  none  the  less  effective.  Nathan  Mayer  understood 
the  interest  which  he  had  in  keeping  always  informed  in  advance 
of  his  competitors  and  even  of  Cabinets  regarding  financial  and 
political  events  which  might  have  an  influence  on  his  specula- 
tions."— S.   P.   Bulletin. 

"It  is  a  very  curious  circumstance  with  reference  to  silver 
that  the  more  we  try  to  increase  its  value  the  lower  it  goes. 
There  cannot  be  much  doubt  that  some  artificial  ractor  is  in  oper- 
ation, else  such  a  result  would  be  wholly  impossible.  There  is 
at  the  same  time  an  organization  of  some  sort  in  London  of 
which  there  is  little  or  no  knowledge,  doing  all  it  can  to  'bear' 
the  metal.  It  is  also  significant  in  this  connection  that  the  silver 
market,  as  a  rule,  exhibits  signs  of  weakness  whenever  it  is 
proposed  to  do  anything  further  on  this  side  of  the  water  for 
its  benefit.  There  seems  to  be  a  persistent  purpose  on  the  part 
of  some  powerful  organization  somewhere  to  depress  the  white 
metal.  Perhaps,  when  the  bottom  facts  are  investigated  there 
will  not  be  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  determining  what  the 
organization  is." 

The  "Money  Kings  of  Europe"  is  the  power  that  rules  silver 
bullion,  also  copper.  • 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  market  price  of  silver  is  fixed  every 
day  in  London  by  a  few  brokers  of  whom  Rothschilds  are 
the  chief.  This  price  is  telegraphed  all  over  the  world.  What 
these  half  dozen  unknown,  irresponsible  persons  choose  to  say  is 
the  market  price  of  silver,  actually  fixes  the  price  at  which  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  toilers  all  the  world  over  shall  take  for  their 
produce. 

THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  wealthiest  nation  in  all  the  world  knuckles  to  the  Roths- 


61 

childs  and  permits  them  to  rule  the  destinies  of  its  people.  Some- 
how they  managed  to  induce  John  Sherman,  who  had  a  pull  as  a 
Republican  leader,  to  suspend  the  coinage  of  silver.  From  1865 
to  1873  about  $140,000,000  silver  was  produced,  only  about 
$8,000,000  had  been  coined,  yet  $132,000,000  was  exported,  and 
mainly  by  the  Rothschilds,  who  were  shipping  it  to  china  at  a 
vast  profit  for  gold,  which  the  Chinese  did  not  use  as  money,  their\ 
circulation  being  silver. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  lost  over  a  thousand 
million  dollars  through  the  folly  of  our  paid  political  grafters. 
The  ruinous  work  is  still  going  on.  British  India  is  buying  the] 
silver  produced  in  our  country  and  coining  it  into  legal  tender 
silver  Rupee  coins  to  the  extent  of  about  200,000,000  rupees  per 
annum,  and  making  an  annual  profit  of  about  $25,000,000.  All 
the  governments  of  Europe  are  buying  silver  produced  in  the 
United  States,  and  having  it  coined  into  legal  tender  coins,  and 
earning  a  profit  of  about  $25,000,000  per  year.  Why  not  coin, 
all  the  silver  produced  in  the  United  States,  and  let  our  people  i 
have  the  profit? 

EUROPEAN  PROFITS  IN  SILVER. 

The  Treasury  Department  reports  that  in  1895  silver  bullion 
was  coined  by  21  countries  producing  $100,069,000.  Among 
those  countries  which  thus  gained  a  profit  of  over  100  per  cent 
were  Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Austria-Hungary  and  Rus- 
sia. Will  those  countries  which  gain  so  largely  between  the  com- 
modity value  of  the  bullion  and  the  coinage  value,  ever  consent 
to  international  bimetalism?      Hardly  possible! 

And  ever  since  then  up  to  the  present  year,  1908,  all  Eu- 
ropean nations  have  been  buying  the  silver  bullion  produced  in 
the  United  States  now  (Sept.  1,  1908)  at  51  cents  per  ounce,  and 
having  it  coined  into  legal  tender  silver  coins  at  the  ratio  of  $1.33 
per  ounce.  Also,  Asiatic  Nations.  There  are  millions  lost  to 
our  miners  by  our  folly  in  allowing  our  people  to  be  robbed. 
How  long  will  our  people  be  contented  to  be  robbed?  There  are 
33  0  lawyers  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  legislating  for  whom?  Not 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  then  whom?  They  are  still 
discussing  tariff,  low  and  high,  or  overproduction. 

JOHN  SHERMAN. 

John  Sherman  in  his  day  tried  very  hard  to  have  our  gor- 
ernment  reduce  the  value  of  our  silver  dollar  coins  from  the 
legal  value  of  one  dollar  to  5  0  cents  each,  but  failed. 

GOVERNOR  TAFT. 

Governor  Taft,  while  ruling  over  the  Phillipines,  was  success- 
ful in  having  the  Phillipinos  reduce  their  silver  dollars  from  the 
value  of  a  dollar  each  to  50  cents.  However,  what  can  you  expect 
from  a  man  who  devoted  a  life  to  studying  the  technicalities  in 
the  law  to  enable  criminals  to  escape  punishment  for  crime?  Well, 
there  are  330  lawyers  now  in  Congress  who  have  devoted  them- 
selves similarly.  Won't  they  make  matters  howl  in  the  next 
Congress,  when  they  get  the  report  from  Senator  Aldrich  and 
Teller  and  are  told  what  a  wise  and  able  financier  they  found  in 
Rothschild. 


62 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1877,  R.  B.  Hayes  was  inaugurated 
President.  Our  country  was  then  still  groaning  under  the  dis- 
astrous financial  panic  that  broke  out  in  1873.  Bankruptcy  had 
increased  alarmingly,  about  3,000,000  willing  workers  were  idle, 
and  many  of  them  were  roaming  over  the  country  in  search  of 
employment,  without  avail.  Poverty,'  misery  and  crime  had  large- 
ly increased. 

SILVER  COINAGE. 

In  1878  a  bill  for  the  unlimited  coinage  of  slver,  introduced 
by  Representative  Bland,  passed  the  house  and  senate,  but  was 
vetoed  by  President  Hayes.  Then  Senators  Allison  and  Bayard 
and  John  Sherman,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  got  together  and 
concocted  a  robbing  coinage  bill,  requiring  the  monthly  pur- 
chase of  not  less  than  $2,000,000,  nor  more  than  $4,000,000 
of  silver  bullion,  which  bill  was  enacted  into  a  law  in  March,  1878. 

Here  was  another  occasion  seldom  offered  to  help  the  great 
masses  of  the  people  out  of  their  long  suffering.  But  a  great 
man,  then  so  sorely  needed,  was  not  at  the  helm  of  our  govern- 
ment. President  Hayes,  doubtless  honest,  had  not  the  ability, 
good  business  qualities,  nor  sound  judgment  then  required  to 
navigate  the  ship  of  state  through  the  financial  storm.  His 
forte  was  sarcasm  and  ridicule.  The  silver  dollars  coined  un- 
der the  above  law,  and  a  heavy  importation  of  gold,  to  pay  for 
breadstuffs  exported  to  Europe,  where  the  people  were  suffering 
from  a  famine,  owing  to  short  crops,  brought  our  country  out  of 
the  panic.  In  addition  to  the  unrestricted  coinage  of  silver, 
which  would  have  been  an  immense  benefit  to  the  people,  a 
large  paper  money  circulation  was  greatly  needed  and  was 
being   discussed    throughout   the   country. 

A  charge  for  coinage  of  the  silver  of  about  5  per  cent  would 
have  been  just,  but  the  unlimited  coinage  of  both  gold  and  sil- 
ver had  been  allowed  by  our  government  free  of  charge  for  81 
years. 

SENATOR  JOHN  SHERMAN. 

At  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  1876,  in  a  political  speech,  Senator 
Sherman  acknowledged  he  was  the  author  of  the  law  demon- 
etizing silver,  and  said,  "If  anyone  is  guilty  of  the  crime  of 
securing  the  passage  of  the  law  of  1873,  I  am  the  guilty  man." 
Afterwards  a  law  would  have  been  enacted  to  restore  silver  to 
unrestricted  coinage,  but  Senator  Sherman  induced  Senator  Hill 
of  Colorado  to  vote  against  the  bill,  also  Senator  Teller  from 
Colorado  to  absent  himself.  Those  two  voting  Yea  would  have 
carried  the  'bill.  But  unfortunately  gave  a  crippled  bill,  which 
worked  great  ruin  to  silver  and  the  world  suffers  from  Senator 
Sherman's  vile  action. 

PRESIDENT  HAYES  TOURING  THE  WEST. 

In  the  fall  of  1878  President  Hayes  made  a  tour  of  the  west, 
and   delivered    several   speeches   on   the   greenback. 

In  a  speech  delivered  at  Madison,  Wis.,  on  the  10th  of  Sept., 
1878,  President  Hayes,  in  speaking  of  the  United  States  notes 
(greenbacks)  said:  "The  champions  of  this  currency  tell  us 
what  they  ought  to  have  is  a  species  of  paper  currency  which 
by  act  of  Congress  should  say  one  dollar  upon  it,  and  be  worth 
one  dollar  in  this  country.     Of  course  we  do  not  want  it  coun- 


63 

terfeit,  they  say,  but  I  am  afraid  it  would  not  be  a  great  while 
after  it  was  issued  before  it  would  not  be  of  suflBcient  value  to 
counterfeit.  They  would  have  the  dollar  printed  on  good 
paper,  a  good  looking  picture  showing  good  engraving.  What 
does  such  a  dollar  cost? 

"They  say  they  want  good  currency.  With  us  that  means 
a  coin  dollar.  We  know  what  such  a  dollar  costs;  that  it  rep- 
resents a  day's  work,  or  a  bushel  of  wheat.  Does  a  paper  dollar 
represent  any  such  amount  of  labor?  No.  The  cost  of  its  pro- 
duction is  less  than  one  cent  for  each  dollar  bill.  Herein  we 
certainly  have  a  great  saving — a  saving  of  99  cents  in  labor 
over  the  silver  or  gold  dollar  that  costs  a  bushel  of  wheat  or 
a  day's  labor,  as  we  have  seen.  Now  as  it  costs  no  more  to 
print  the  word  two  than  the  word  one,  let  us  improve  the  oppor- 
tunity. Make  the  bil  read  'two  dollars',  and  we  shall  save  198 
cents.  Now,  my  friends,  if  we  were  to  undertake  to  make  two 
dollars  out  of  gold,  it  would  cost  two  days'  labor  or  two  bushels 
of  wheat.  An  advantage,  then,  appears  to  be  on  the  side  of 
cheap  currency;  and  let  us  improve  the  opportunity  offered  us 
and  make  our  bill  read  ten  dollars,  instead  of  a  two  or  a  one,  as 
the  cost  is  only  one  cent.  Instead  of  ten  days'  labor  or  ten 
bushels  of  wheat,  multiples  of  ten,  with  no  more  cost  than  for 
the  single  dollar.  We  are  doing  well,  but  not  wisely,  I  fear,  for 
we  might  not  choose  well;  and  now  we  will  pay  off  the  national 
debt  with  it;  and  then,  Mr.  Senator  and  Mr.  Congressman,  we 
will  pay  you  off  in  the  same;  and  I  fear  they  might  turn  upon 
me  and  say:  'Well,  Mr.  President,  we  will  pay  you  off  in  the 
same  kind  of  money.'  " 

What  a  ridiculous  speech  of  pure  unadulterated  pettifog- 
ging! Senators,  representatives  an  soldiers  of  the  army  were 
paid  in  this  money,  and  it  carried  our  country  successfully 
through  the  rebellion. 

SUPREME  COURT  DECISION. 

Chief  Justice  Waite  in  rendering  that  memorable  decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  declared  that  our  gov- 
ernment might  find  it  necessary  to  issue  its  legal  tenders  in 
time  of  peace.  That  occasion  was  then  upon  the  country,  but 
President  Hayes  was  not  the  man  for  the  occasion.  If  such  a 
wise  man  as  Benjamin  Franklin  had  been  holding  the  office,  the 
country  could  have  had  immediate  relief. 

THE  BALTIMORE  RIOT. 

On  July  15,  1877,  at  Baltimore,  in  the  Cross  street  market 
hall,  the  writer,  by  invitation  of  the  employees  of  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Railroad  Co.,  addressed  them  upon  the  subject  of  a  con- 
templated strike  upon  the  reduction  of  their  wages.  He  told 
them  that  the  country  was  then  in  the  midst  of  an  alarming, 
grievous  and  most  distressing  financial  panic,  brought  on  by  a 
greatly  contracted  money  circulation,  that  several  million  willing 
workers  were  idle  and  looking  for  a  job  at  any  price  and  com- 
peting with  those  who  had  work.  That  many  of  them  had  fam- 
ilies dependent  upon  them;  therefore  they  should  remain  at 
their  posts,  as  half  a  loaf  was  better  than  no  bread;  that  owing 
to  the  depression  business  had  fallen  oft'  largely  in  every  branch; 
that  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.  was  not  making  money  as  formerly 
and  had  to  retrench;  that  their  remedy  lay  in  thereafter  electing 


64 

honest  and  capable  business  men  to  the  halls  of  congress  to  en- 
act just  and  liberal  laws,  especially  one  for  a  generous  financial 
system  that  would  restore  prosperity. 

A  young  man  arose  and  asked  how  much  the  B.  &  O.  Co. 
had  paid  me  to  thus  talk  to  them.  The  writer  replied  that  he 
was  there  at  the  request  of  a  committee  from  their  organiza- 
tion, who  came  with  a  carriage  to  his  residence  and  invited  him 
to  come  and  address  them.  He  had  given  them  his  candid  and 
honest  judgment.  He  then  told  the  young  man  that  he  would  be 
one  of  those  who  would  abandon  his  place  and  that  he  would 
for  a  long  time  be  walking  the  streets  of  Baltimore,  wearing  out 
shoe  leather  looking  for  another  job, — which  proved  to  be  a  fact. 
Vice-President  Kiser  appeared  at  the  hall  to  talk  to  the  men, 
but  many  declared  he  should  not  be  heard;  but  upon  my  urg- 
ing them  to  listen  to  him,  they  submitted.  He  then  came  for- 
ward and  told  them  the  company  was  losing  money  and  that  in 
justice  the  employees  should  submit  ^  to  the  reduction,  which 
would  be  restored  when  times  improved.  A  majority  decided 
not  to  strike.  The  next  day  some  of  the  hot  heads  abandoned 
their  places;  a  riot  ensued,  with  incendiary  fires;  the  rioting 
spread  into  Pennsylvania,  where,  in  Alleghany  county,  millions 
of  dollars  of  property  was  destroyed. 

Here  is  a  warning  to  those  eminent  financiers  who  still  in- 
sist upon  a  contracted  money  circulation  and  urge  that  the  im- 
mensely vast  internal  trade  of  our  country  should  continue  to 
be  run  on  a  98  per  cent  credit  basis,  which  plan  is  rapidly  de- 
stroying confidence,  with  all  its  dire  results.  Heed  and  change 
ere  it  is  too  late! 

TO  RETIRE  GREENBACKS. 

Washington,  December  2,  1879.  The  radical  recommenda- 
tion by  President  Hayes  and  Secretary  Sherman  for  the  retire- 
ment of  greenbacks  is  the  chief  topic  of  comment  today  in  polit- 
ical circles. 

Again  are  found  Attorneys  Bayard  and  Sherman  at  their 
old  tricks  working  in  the  interest  of  the  "Money  Kings  of  Eu- 
rope". The  same  power  is  still  at  work.  Will  the  people  con- 
tinue blind  to  their  own  interests? 

President  Hayes,  in  his  message  of  December,  1880,  urged 
the  retiring  of  greenbacks  from  circulation,  stating,  "There  are 
still  in  existence,  uncancelled,  $346,681,016  in  United  States  legal 
tender  notes.  These  notes  were  authorized  as  a  war  measure, 
made  necessary  by  the  exigencies  of  the  conflict  in  which  the 
United  States  was  then  engaged.  The  preservation  of  the  Na- 
tion's existence  required,  in  the  judgment  of  Congress,  the  issue 
of  a  legal  tender  paper  money.  That  it  served  well  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  created  is  not  questioned,  but  the  employment 
of  notes  as  paper  money  indefinitely  after  accomplishment  of  the 
object  for  which  they  were  provided  was  not  contemplated  by 
the  framers  of  the  law  under  which  they  were  issued.  These 
notes  long  since  became,  like  any  other  pecuniary  obligation  of 
the  government,  a  debt  to  be  paid,  and  when  paid  to  be  cancelled 
as  mere  evidence  of  indebtedness  no  longer  existing.  I  therefore 
repeat  what  was  said  in  my  annual  message  of  last  year,  that 
retirement  from  circulation  of  United  States  notes  with  the  ca- 
pacity of  legal  tender  in  private  contracts,  is  a  step  to  be  taken 
in  our  progress  towards  safe  and  stable  currency,  which  should 


65 

be  accepted  as  the  policy  and  duty  of  government  and  interest 
and  security  of  the  people." 

Further  on  he  urged  the  repeal  of  the  restricted  coinage 
law  of  1878.  He  said:  "During  the  last  year  the  average  market 
value  of  the  silver  dollar  has  been  88%  cents.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  legislation  of  the  last  Congress,  in  regard  to  silver,  so  far  a& 
it  was  based  on  an  anticipated  rise  in  the  value  of  silver  as  the 
result  of  that  legislation,  has  failed  to  produce  the  effect  then 
predicted.  The  longer  the  law  remains  in  force,  requiring,  as  it 
does,  the  coinage  of  a  nominal  dollar,  which,  in  reality  is  not  a 
dollar,  the  greater  becomes  the  danger  that  this  country  will  be 
forced  to  accept  the  single  metal  as  the  sole  legal  standard  value 
in  circulation,  and  this  a  standard  of  less  value  than  it  purports 
to  be  worth  in  the  recognized  money  of  the  world."  The  banks 
of  our  country  then,  as  now,  with  the  very  limited  amount  of 
gold  in  our  country,  were  in  no  condition  to  be  placed  upon  a 
gold  basis. 

Providentially,  Congress  did  not  heed  the  advice  of  Presi- 
dent Hayes,  the  greenbacks  were  continued  in  circulation  and 
the  coinage  of  silver  went  on.  Both  helped  to  bring  the  country 
out  of  the  toils  of  the  panic,  also  providentially,  our  country,  in 
1878,  and  for  several  years  after,  produced  magnificent  crops  ot 
grain,  while  the  grain  crops  of  Europe  were  a  partial  failure, 
which  necessitated  heavy  exportations  of  our  produce,  and  in 
payment  Europe  sent  us  large  sums  of  gold.  The  coinage  of 
silver  and  the  importation  of  gold,  with  the  aid  of  the  green- 
backs, brought  the  country  back  to  fair  prosperity. 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1881,  James  A.  Garfield  was  inaugu- 
rated president,  who  went  into  office  under  advantageous  cir- 
cumstances brought  about  by  improving  times,  from  the  in- 
crease in  the  volume  of  money,  by  the  importation  of  gold  and 
by  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars  under  the  law  of  1878.  Still  the 
money  circulation  was  far  from  ample  to  give  an  abundant  pros- 
perity. Yet  it  had  sufficiently  increased  to  bring  on  a  wave  of 
fairly  good  times  and  give  employment  to  most  all  of  the  3,000,- 
000  persons  who  were  idle  during  the  panic. 

SILVER  COINAGE  BENEFIT. 

The  coinage  of  over  $2,000,000  worth  of  silver  bullion 
monthly  had  added  considerable  to  the  circulation  and  aided  in 
backing  up  the  credits,  thereby  increasing  confidence  among  the 
business  people.  The  increase  of  the  money  only  can  restore  con- 
fidence. 

PRESIDENT    GARFIELD    ASSASSINATED. 

President  Garfield  had  been  in  office  but  a  short  time  when 
he  was  assassinated.  His  cruel  murder  was  a  severe  loss  to  the 
people,  as  they  were  just  getting  over  the  frightful  panic  of  1873. 

CHESTER  A.ARTHUR. 

Chester  A  Arthur,  the  vice-president,  was  immediately  sworn 
into  office  as  president.  The  business  conditions  throughout  the 
country  during  his  terra  improved  right  along,  and  the  people 
were  highly  pleased  with  his  administration,  which  was  brought 
about  by  the  continued  increase  of  the  circulation. 


66 

IMPORT    OF   GOLD. 

Fortuitous  circumstances  had  brought  an  era  of  prosperity 
again  to  our  people.  Most  bountiful  grain  crops  were  produced 
in  our  country  in  1878,  and  for  several  years  after,  while  there 
was  a  partial  failure  in  the  grain  crops  of  most  countries  of 
Europe.  This  had  the  effect  of  increasing  enormously  our  ex- 
ports to  European  countries.  From  1878  to  1885,  inclusive,  our 
net  exports  reached  nearly  $1,200,000,000,  which  had  the  effect 
of  bringing  back  to  our  country  a  vast  amount  of  our  securities; 
-also,  over  $187,000,000  net  in  gold  was  imported.  (See  Statis- 
tical Abstract  13,  pages  60  and  62). 

COINAGE  OF  SILVER  DOLLARS. 

Also,  Congress,  in  March,  1878,  passed  the  restricted  coin- 
age law — to  purchase  and  to  coin  into  dollars  not  less  than 
$2,000,000  nor  more  than  $4,000,000  in  value  of  silver  bullion 
monthly — but  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  took  very  particular 
pains  to  always  purchase  the  lesser  amount.  Up  to  and  includ- 
ing 1885,  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars  was  about  $218,000,000. 
(See  Mint  Report,  1888,  page  2  03).  Thus  the  immense  sum 
of  about  $400,000,000  was  added  to  our  money  circulation 
through  the  importation  of  gold  and  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars. 
With  more  money  business  improved  in  every  branch,  employ- 
ment of  labor  became  more  active,  real  estate  enhanced  in  value, 
and  generally  the  times  greatly  improved. 

DECREASE   OF   FAILURES. 

R.  G.  Dunn  &  Co.  reported  failures  much  reduced  in  num- 
bers from  former  years,  as  follows: 

1880 4,735 

1881 5,582 

1882 6,738 

Total 17,055 

LARGE  SURPLUS. 

On  retiring  from  the  office.  President  Arthur  left  a  surplus 
of  $100,000,000  in  the  treasury.  For  the  able,  wise,  just  and 
excellent  administration  of  the  office  of  president,  he  deserved 
the  sincere  thanks  and  best  wishes  of  all  the  people  of  our 
country. 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1885,  Grover  Cleveland  was  inaugu- 
rated president,  who,  after  his  election  as  president,  and  before 
being  installed  into  office,  took  into  his  confidence  Thomas  F. 
Bayard,  attorney-at-law.  They  concocted  that .  notorious  anti- 
silver  letter  written  in  February,  1885,  which  he  addressed  to 
General  A.  J.  Warner,  then  chairman  bf  the  Coinage  Committee 
of  the  House,  requesting  that  Congress  take  no  further  action 
in  regard  to  the  coinage  of  silver  until  he  should  be  inaugurated; 
that  if  Congress  did,  it  would  be  the  ruination  of  the  country. 
Congress  was  then  considering  and  just  about  passing  a  bill  for 
the  unrestricted  coinage  of  silver  at  16  to  1,  just  as  the  law  had 
previously  existed  for  81  years,  and  very  beneficially. 


67 

CENSURABLE  LTETTER. 

This  wholly  unwarranted  and  unjustifiable  letter  depreciat- 
ing silver  coinage,  written  by  Cleveland  and  sent  to  Congress  be- 
fore he  was  installed  into  office,  was  the  death  blow  to  silver 
coinage  for  that  term,  from  which  it  has  not  recovered.  It 
was  just  what  the  European  bullion  dealers  intensely  desired  and 
what  they  had  been  battling  for  since  1873,  knowing  it  would 
cause  the  bullion  to  largely  depreciate  in  value  and  enable  them 
to  make  enormous  profits.  When  Cleveland  wrote  that  letter  he 
knew  nothing  about  silver.  It  was  new  to  him.  The  statements 
he  made  were  the  paid  opinions  of  the  paid  attorneys  of  the 
bullion  dealers,  whispered  into  his  ear.  Anyhow,  it  had  the  effect 
of  preventing  silver  coinage,  and  as  silver  bullion  went  down  in 
price,  wheat  and  cotton  likewise  followed,  and  farmers,  merchants, 
manufacturers  and  mine  owners  have  in  consequence  lost  over  a 
thousand  million  dollars,  causing  the  wreckage  of  men  in  every 
branch  of  business,  and  for  all  of  which  President  Cleveland  is" 
responsible  and  censurable.  He  has  ever  since  his  first  election 
fought  silver  early  and  late  and  most  unrelentingly.  Who  has 
been  benefited  by  his  intermeddling  before  being  legally  author- 
ized to  act?  Not  our  people,  for  they  have  lost  immensely.  For- 
eign governments  and  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe"  only,  have 
profited  by  the  hasty  intermeddling  and  usurpation  of  Grover 
Cleveland.  He  went  into  oflBce  on  the  highest  tide  of  the  good 
times  brought  about  through  the  large  coinage  of  silver  dollars 
and  the  heavy  importation  of  gold. 

THOMAS  F.  BAYARD. 

President  Cleveland  apointed  Thomas  F.  Bayard  to  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State.  He  had  been  for  years  the  attorney  for 
August  Belmont,  agent  of  the  Rothschilds,  and  aided  Sherman  in 
his  foul  act  of  demonetizing  silver. 

ILLEGAL  DEPOSITS. 

President  Cleveland  found  in  the  treasury  a  surplus  of  over 
$100,000,000,  from  which  he  unwisely  loaned  without  interest 
$61,000,000  to  national  banks,  which  Mr.  Blaine  said,  in  a  public 
speech  at  Auburn,  Maine,  was  without  authority  of  law.  This 
loan  had  a  very  serious  and  bad  effect   upon  the  country. 

BONDS  AT  28  PER  CENT  PREMIL^M. 

It  enabled  the  banks  to  get  a  corner  on  the  4  per  cent  bonds 
falling  due  in  1907  and  raise  the  premium  on  them  to  the  out- 
rageous price  of  28  per  cent,  which  they  preferred  to  take  from 
the  government  rather  than  to  keep  their  bank  notes  in  circu- 
lation. Through  this  action  the  national  banks  retired  their 
circulation  rapidly  and  largely,  which  was  ground  up  into  pulp 
in  that  mill  in  the  treasury  department  known  as  "Old  Desola- 
tion". I  suppose  it  is  so  called  from  the  desolation  caused  by 
the  immense  amount  of  money  that  had  been  ground  up  in  it. 
If  it  could  talk  it  could  tell  many  a  harrowing  story  that  this 
wanton  destruction  of  money  has  caused.  This  paper  pulp  is  cast 
into  paper  weights,  etc.,  and  sold  to  visitors,  from  stands  in  the 
halls  of  the  several  departments. 

SENATOR  PLLTVIB. 

Senator  Plumb  in  a  speech  in  the  Senate  in  1888,  referring 
to  the  deposits  in  the  banks,  said:     "The  treasury  department  is 


68 

in  active  partnership  with  the  national  hanks.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  has  loaned  to  the  banks  over  $61,000,000  of 
the  public  funds  instead  of  buying  bonds  and  saving  interest.  It 
has  chosen  to  do  this  and  up  to  date  the  banks  have  been  will- 
ing to  receive  the  money." 

SENATOR  SHERMAN. 

Senator  Sherman  in  commenting  upon  such  deposits  said: 
"It  is  also  true  that  during  President  Cleveland's  adminis- 
tration, at  a  time  when  there  was  a  real  or  supposed  stringency, 
the  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  deposited  in  national  banks 
a  large  amount  of  public  money,  other  than  that  derived  from 
customs,  with  a  view  to  relieve  the  stringency.  I  believed  and 
proclaimed  at  the  time  that  this  was  neither  authorized  by  law 
nor  was  it  good  policy.  The  money  should  have  been  promptly 
used  in  the  purchase  or  payment  of  the  public  debt.  No  such 
deposit  was  made  by  a  Republican  administration,  and  the  money 
so  deposited  was  withdrawn  as  rapidly  as  was  prudent."  After- 
wards Mr.  Sherman's  speech  was  criticised,  which  appeared  in 
the  "View",  published  in  Washington: 

REPRESENTATIVE  BLAND. 

"But  Senator  Sherman  says  that  'no  such  deposit  was  made 
by  a  Republican  administration.'  I  once  heard  a  little  boy  say 
to  his  father,  who  had  failed  to  bring  him  a  promised  toy,  'Pa, 
you've  got  a  mighty  big  forgetity.'  It  is  evident  that  John  Sher- 
man owns  about  the  largest  and  most  convenient  'forgetity'  in 
this  country,  if  he  has  forgotten  the  fact,  that,  while  he  was  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  1877  to  1881,  he  used  the  First  National 
Bank  of  New  York,  as  a  depository  of  public  funds,  and  that  he 
kept  on  deposit  in  that  bank  from  $100,000,000  to  $125,000,000 
on  which  the  bank  did  not  pay  the  government  a  cent  of  inter- 
est, but  on  which  the  bank  probably  made  $5,000,000  a  year  dur- 
ing the  four  years  that  Sherman  had  control  of  the  people's 
monetary  interests.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Sherman  was  a  stock- 
holder in,  and  a  director  of  that  bank,  still  further  increases  the 
wonder  that  he  should  have  forgotten  all  the  facts  in  the  case." 

"John  Sherman  entered  public  life  in  1854.  He  was  a  poor 
man  then.  He  has  received  in  salaries  a  total  of  $190,000.  He 
has  supported  his  family  in  fashionable  style.  He  is  now  a  multi- 
millionaire. If  asked  how  he  became  so  wealthy  it  is  highly 
probable  that  his  elaborate  and  very  convenient  'forgetity'  would 
so  competely  eclipse  his  memory  as  to  render  him  unable  to  give 
an   intelligent   answer.  T.    A.    BLAND." 

Washington,  D.  C,  August  22,  1891. 

CLEVELAND  BUYING  BONDS. 

President  Cleveland  bought  enormously  of  4  per  cent  bonds 
due  in  1907  and  paid  28  per  cent  premium.  It  was  this  purchase 
of  bonds  that  caused  the  withdrawal  and  destruction  of  the  vast 
amount  of  National  bank  notes  from  circulation.  The  loss  of  the 
bank  notes  from  the  channels  of  trade,  taking  from  the  people 
such  an  enormous  debt  paying  power,  was  the  origin  of  the  panic 
of  1893,  wrecking  the  manufacturers,  merchants,  farmers  and 
bankers.  Can't  you  see  when  money  ceases  to  exist,  debt  paying 
stops? 


69 

DESTRUCTION  OF  BANK  NOTES. 

The  report  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  shows  the 
amount  of  National  bank  notes  retired  from  circulation  during 
the  first  term  of  President  Cleveland,  viz.: 

1885 $17,580,016 

1886 13,882,422 

1887 29,338,919 

1888 32,606,765 

Total $93,408,122 

For  whose  benefit  was  this  most  astonishing  transaction? 
Surely  not  our  people.     Then  who?     National  Banks. 

CONTRACTION. 

The  rapid  retiring  of  the  immense  amount  of  national  bank 
notes  by  President  Cleveland  was  the  extra  pound  that  broke 
the  camel's  back.  He  Was  so  bitterly  opposed  to  silver  money, 
also  to  United  States  notes,  that  he  would  not  consent  that  either 
should  take  the  place  of  the  retired  national  bank  notes.  He  said 
that  silver  was  only  suitable  for  subsidiary  money,  and  that  United 
States  notes  were  unconstitutional  money. 

UNITED  STATES  SUPREME  COURT. 

Notwithstanding  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  by  eight 
judges  favoring  and  only  one.  Associate  Justice  Field,  dissenting, 
declared  it  constitutional  money.  The  court  also  declared  that 
our  government  had  the  right  to  issue  its  legal  tenders  in  time 
of  peace  as  well  as  in  time  of  war.  Chief  Justice  Waite,  in  ren- 
dering that  most  wise  decision,  also  said  that  "there  might  arise 
an  occasion  in  time  of  peace  when  our  government  might  find  it 
necessary  to  issue  its  legal  tenders." 

During  the  term  of  President  Cleveland  such  an  occasion 
arose,  but  he  in  his  obstinacy  let  it  slip,  preferring  that  the  peo- 
ple might  be  taught  an  object  lesson  of  bankruptcy  for  differ- 
ing with  him  on  the  question  of  finance. 

SENATOR  BECK. 

The  late  Judge  Beck,  then  Senator  from  Kentucky,  warned 
Mr.  Cleveland  that  his  contraction  policy  would  wreck  the  coun- 
try, and  urged  him  to  desist;  also  advised  him  that  as  fast  as 
the  national  bank  notes  should  be  retired  and  gold  exported, 
that  he  recommend  to  Congress  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars, 
or  an  issue  of  United  States  notes  to  take  the  place  of  such  money 
withdrawn  from  the  channels  of  trade.  But  President  Cleveland 
heeded  not  the  wisdom  of  the  venerable  Senator. 

CLEVELAND  FISHING. 

While  many  thousands  suffered  from  loss  of  homes  under 
foreclosure,  President  Ceveland  was  serenely  enjoying  himself 
around  Buzzard's  Bay  fishing.  He  was  either  indifferent  or  had 
not  been  posted  upon  the  grave  situation  of  our  country;  being 
surrounded  all  the  while  by  heads  of  trusts  and  monopolies,  and 
the  crafty  politicians,  prevented  his  acquiring  information  on 
subjects  that  would  have  been  beneficial  to  the  people. 

BANIUIUPTCY  INCREASES. 

According  to  the  report  of  R.  G.  Dun  &  Co.,  bankruptcies 
increased  largely  in  President  Cleveland's  first  term,  viz.: 


70 

1886 9,834 

1887 9,634 

1888 10,679 

Total 30,147 

A  black  record  to  go  out  with!  Compare  these  three  years 
with  those  of  1880,  1881  and  1882,  or  with  those  of  1864,  1865 
and  1866. 

EXPORT  OF  GOLD. 
In  July,  1888,  an  exportation  of  gold  began  which  continued 
right  along  and  assumed  immense  proportions.  The  exportation 
of  gold,  and  the  cancellation  of  national  bank  notes,  was  an  ob- 
ject lesson  in  contraction,  which  the  people  felt  most  seriously. 
The  Democratic  politicians  with  the  office  holders  succeeded  in 
nominating  Cleveland  for  a  second  term,  but  the  people  were  so 
disgusted  and  dissatisfied  with  his  financial  policy  that  they 
voted  for  Benjamin  Harrison.  They  did  not  believe  they  could 
fare  worse. 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 
Harrison  was  elected,  and  on  the  4th  of  March,  1889,  inau- 
gurated president.  He  was  of  the  same  unfortunate  policy  of 
contraction  as  his  predecessor.  He  kept  in  the  same  groove,  buy- 
ing bonds,  paying  28  per  cent  premium  and  allowing  the  banks 
to  retire  their  circulation  without  urging  upon  Congress  that  it 
be  replaced  with  other  money. 

CONTRAOriNG  THE  CIRCULATION. 

The  Competroller  of  the  Currency's  report  shows  the  re- 
duction in  circulation  of  national  banks  as  follows: 

1889 $37,300,733 

1890 22,294,131 

1891 7,471,285 

Total $67,066,149 

In  1892  there  was  an  increase  of  $1,058,248.  Still  with  this 
increase  there  was  a  contraction  during  the  term  of  President 
Harrison  of  $66,007,901  national  bank  note  circulation  through 
destruction  of  the  bank  notes.  That  much  debt  paying  power 
was  taken  from  the  people.  At  the  same  time  gold  was  being 
largely  exported. 

DEVOTED  TO  TECHNICALITIES. 
President  Harrison  was  an  unfortunate  selection  by  the  peo- 
ple for  that  great  administrative  office.  His  early  business  life 
had  been  devoted  to  technicalities  in  the  law,  to  aid  persons  to 
avoid  paying  debts  or  to  escape  punishment  from  charges  of  in- 
fraction of  the  law.  He  had  contracted  strange  ideas  about 
money,  and  declared  that  the  gold  dollar  only  is  money,  owing 
to  its  full  and  intrinsic  value.  That  our  silver  dollar  is  not 
money,  because  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  bullion  is  only  53  cents. 
He  declared  that  it  was  not  the  law  which  enabled  the  silver 
dollar  to  pay  debts,  but  because  it  was  based  upon  gold,  yet  not 
one  silver  dollar,  nor  a  silver  certificate,  had  ever  been  redeemed 
by  the  U.  S.  Treasury  in  gold  coin.  The  silver  dollar  had  stood 
alone  on  its  debt  paying  power,  and  he  for  years  had  been  trying 
to  destroy  that  debt  paying  power  and  force  silver  coin  into 
disuse. 


71 

50   CENT   SILVER   DOLLARS. 

John  Sherman  was  continually  harping  upon  our  Silver  Dol- 
lars, declaring  that  they  were  worth  only  50  cents  each,  and  got 
the  same  Idea  into  the  brain  of  President  Harrison.  They  had  not 
the  wisdom  of  the  venerable  Chief  Justice  Waite  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  and  seven  other  judges  of  the  same 
court  concurring  with  him.  Only  one,  Justice  Field,  dissented, 
always  recognized  as  a  corporation  lawyer. 

INTERNATIONAL  AGREEMENT  IMPOSSIBLE. 

A  commission  apointed  by  President  Harrison  was  sent  to 
an  European  conference  on  the  silver  question,  composed  of 
Jesse  Seligman  et  al.  They  conferred  with  Lord  Rothschild, 
who  denounced  the  measure  for  the  United  States  to  coin  silver. 
His  judgment  was  for  the  Gold  Standard.  Here  is  a  report  of  the 
others  from  the  American  Banker: 

"Henry  W.  Canaon,  president  of  the  Chase  National  Bank 
of  New  York,  and  who  was  a  member  of  the  Brussels  Conference, 
before  the  recent  meeting  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  Providence, 
R.  I.,  said:  'While  the  declarations  and  statements  made  by  the 
different  delegates  to  the  conference  from  the  several  countries 
represented  are  of  the  greatest  importance  and  value  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  in  their  consideration  of  the  silver 
question,  nothing  definite  was  accomplished,  and  we  are  forced 
to  the  conclusion,  from  what  transpired,  that  an  international  bi- 
metallic union  cannot  be  formed  nor  an  international  bi-metallic 
agreement  fixing  the  ratio  betwen  gold  and  silver  entered  into 
unless  a  great  change  occurs  in  the  sentiment  of  Great  Britain, 
whose  position  in  the  conference  is  indicated  by  a  statement  of 
Sir  Rivers  Wilson,  who  declared:  'Our  faith  is  that  of  the  school 
of  mono-metalism  pure  and  simple.  We  do  not  admit  that  any 
other  system  than  a  single  gold  standard  would  be  applicable  to 
our  country.'  This  has  recently  been  confirmed  by  the  utterance 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  in  Parliament.  Upon  the  action  of  England 
apparently  depends  the  action  of  the  majority  of  other  coun- 
tries.' 

Mr.  C.  C.  Cornwell,  president  of  the  City  Bank  of  Buffalo, 
says:  "Let  me  say  one  thing  further;  if  you  read  carefully  the 
deliberations  of  the  Brussels  Conference,  the  very  last  interna- 
tional expression  on  this  subject,  you  will  be  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  the  impossibility  of  getting  governments  together  on 
bimetalism.  The  positive  refusals  of  the  gold-standard  nations 
to  even  consider  international  bimetalism  places  the  matter  en- 
tirely out  of  reach." 

The  people  of  the  United  States  had  waited  most  patiently 
for  23  long  years  for  Congress  to  restore  the  unrestricted  coin- 
age of  silver  bullion  and  thus  bring  it  to  a  parity  with  gold  bul- 
lion, and  blot  out  the  crime  of  1873;  but  Ambassador  Bayard  and 
Senators  Sherman  and  Allison,  who  were  in  the  Senate  at  the 
time  the  deed  was  done,  plead  that  our  people  should  wait  until 
Great  Britain  consents. 

Our  government  has  suflBcient  power  and  wealth  to  sustain 
its  own  financial  system;  then  why  wait  for  years  and  dally  with 
interested  European  governments  to  consent?  "Money  Kings  of 
Europe"  have  bound  our  people  with  shackles.  We  should  burst 
them  assunder  and  cast  them  off. 


72 

CONTRACTING  THE  CIRCULATION. 

The  report  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  of  1891, 
pages  13  8  and  139,  shows  that  the  amount  of  national  bank 
notes  in  circulation  at  respective  dates,  was  as  follows: 

October   31,   1882 $360,982,713 

September    25,    1891 171,978,673 

Withdrawn    $189,004,040 

Besides,  on  the  former  date  there  was  in  the  treasury  $35,- 
993,461  in  greenbacks  for  the  redemption  of  retiring  national 
bank  notes,  and  on  the  latter  date  $37,002,875.  What  a  fright- 
ful shrinkage — $189,004,040  in  the  debt-paying  power  of  the 
people! 

ILLEGAL  CURRENCY. 
An  object  lesson  indeed,  felt  severely  by  every  business  inter- 
est in  the  country  and  which  forced  the  New  York  Clearing 
House  Association  on  the  11th  of  November,  1891,  to  authorize 
the  issue  of  certificates,  to  be  accepted  in  lieu  of  money  in  the 
settlement  of  Icearing-house  balances.  The  next  day  $16,645,000' 
of  this  illegal  currency  was  issued. 

GOLD  EXPORTS. 

For  the  period  extending  from  the  1st  of  January,  1890,  to 
the  31st  of  August,  1891,  the  exports  of  gold  were  $75,405,613 
net.  Thus  the  candle  of  contraction  was  burning  at  both  ends- — 
national  bank  notes  retired  from  circulation  and  gold  exported. 
Thus  the  business  people  were  deprived  of  their  debt-paying 
power.  Politicians  were  bellowing  that  the  tariff  was  wrecking 
the  country,  and  weak-minded  men  that  there  was  an  over  pro- 
duction of  mankind's  blessings.  It  was  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  contracted  circulation  of  money  that  was  doing  the  wreck- 
ing, and  causing  a  heavy  decrease  in  the  value  of  all  products. 

The  law  enacted  by  Congress  in  May,  1890,  placing  our  gov- 
ernment upon  a  gold  basis,  is  extremely  hazardous  and  will  some 
day  prove  extremely  disastrous  to  all  banks,  including  the  Na- 
tional Banks.  Our  government  should  be  upon  the  same  footing 
in  regard  to  legal  tender,  as  France.  All  money  should  be  a 
full  legal  tender  to  pay  any  debt,  and  no  debt  allowed  to  be 
made  payable  in  specific  money  (gold),  being  against  public 
policy  and  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  our  country. 

INCREASE  OF  BANKRUPTS. 

This  enormous  decrease  in  the  national  bank  circulation  by 
its  destruction  and  the  heavy  export  of  gold  caused  an  alarming 
increase  in  bankruptcies. — R.  G.  Dun  &  Co.  reported  as  follows: 

1889 10,882 

1890 10,907 

1891 12,273 

Total 34,062 

COMPARE   1864. 

Compare  this  large  number  of  failures  with  the  years  1880, 
1881  and  1882,  when  only  17,055  were  reported  or  during  the 
three  years  of  1864,  1865  and  1866,  when  the  total  only  num- 
bered 1683.  Then  there  was  a  very  large  per  capita  circulation. 


7Z 

Employees  had  higher  wages  and  were  promptly  paid.  The  re- 
tail trade  of  the  country  was  done  on  a  far  larger  cash  basis 
than  now. 

It  was  the  contracted  circulation,  causing  a  frightful  expan- 
sion of  the  credit  business  that  was  causing  the  wreckage, 

FAILURE  OF  FOSTER  AND  McKINLEY. 

It  was  the  contracted  money  circulation  that  bankrupted 
former  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Foster  and  closed  his  factories 
in  Ohio;  also  that  bankrupted  William  J.  McKinley,  later  presi- 
dent. Yet  those  sages  were  contractionists  for  the  funding  of 
the  greenbacks  and  placing  the  banks  of  the  country  on  a  gold 
basis,  to  cause  their  wreckage  again  as  in   1837  and  1857! 

The  assignee  of  ex-Secretary  Foster  settled  $213,000  owing 
the  creditors  at  40  cents  on  the  dollar. 

BUTCHERED   SILVER. 

Early  in  1890  there  seemed  to  be  a  determination  on  the 
part  of  Congress  to  restore  the  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  bul- 
lion, but  i^e  paid  attorneys  of  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe" 
smothered  the  bill  and  patched  up  another  compromise.  On 
July  14  Congress  enacted  a  law  directing  the  purchase  monthly 
of  4  V^  million  ounces  of  silver  bullion,  to  be  paid  for  in  an  issue 
of  legal  tender  treasury  notes,  which  notes  were  to  be  redeem- 
able in  coin,  and  are  the  same  which  Secretary  Carlisle  redeemed 
in  gold  coin.  That  was  done  to  get  up  a  hue  and  cry  to  secure 
the  repeal  oi  the  law. 

SILVER  AND  COTTON.  -^ 

On  the  adoption  of  the  law,  silver  bullion  advanced  to  $1.21 
per  ounce,  also  with  it  cotton  and  wheat  advanced  In  price. 
Many  persons  believed  that  this  large  coinage  would  absorb 
all  the  silver  bullion  mined  in  this  country. 

ROTHSCHILDS  PREPARED. 

But  the  Rothschilds  were  prepared  for  the  occasion.  They 
bad  hoarded  a  lot  of  silver  bullion  in  Europe  and  immediately 
shipped  several  million  ounces  to  New  York  city,  dumped  it  on 
the  market  and  broke  the  price  heavily.  Cotton  and  wheat 
tumbled  in  price  also.  Just  as  likely  as  not  those  sales  of  silver 
bullion  were  washed  and  the  Rothschilds  bought  it  back.  No 
one  can  tell  anything  about  those  schemes.  Anyhow  the  wreck- 
age was  complete. 

U.  S.  NOTES. 

There  were  about  $155,000,000  in  treasury  notes  issued  un- 
der this  silver  purchase  law  and  they  did  good  service  in  par- 
tially relieving  the  people  from  the  crisis  that  had  been  largely 
increasing  in  force,  through  the  rapid  retiring  of  the  national 
bank  notes  and  export  of  gold.  The  issue  of  those  treasury 
notes  was  opportune,  but  the  volume  was  not  near  ample  to 
bring  prosperity  nor  to  stop  the  increasing  bankruptcies.  The 
heavy  export  of  gold  kept  right  along  through  President  Harri- 
son's term  and  was  an  offset  to  the  increase  in  treasury  notes. 

POT  AND  KETTLE. 

The  people  had  become  about  as  sick  of  Harrison's  adminis- 
tration as  they  had  been  of  Cleveland's  and  were  ready  to  jump 


74 

out  of  the  frying  pan  of  the  one  into  the  hot  water  of  the  other, 
taking  chances  for  an  improvement  with  Cleveland  in  another 
term. 

Had  President  Harrison  permitted  the  passage  of  a  free 
coinage  silver  bill  he  would  have  won  the  hearts  of  the  people 
and  been  re-elected  president  without  a  doubt. 

MONEY   KINGS. 

The  office  holders  under  President  Harrison  were  determined 
to  hold  on  to  the  pap,  besides  the  "Money  Kings  of  Europe"  so 
deeply  interested  in  the  silver  question,  were  satisfied  fully  with 
his  record  and  views,  rendered  all  the  necessary  aid  and  his 
renomination  was  secured.  No  other  person  could  have  the  least 
chance. 

The  politicians  and  paid  wire-workers  bent  all  their  efforts 
for  Cleveland,  in  whom  the  Money  Kings  of  Europe  from  past 
experience  had  all  confidence.  Hill  had  the  inside  track  with  the 
people,  but  his  Elmira  speech  was  against  him  and  he  was  set 
aside.     The  nomination  was  given  to  Cleveland. 

FORCE  BILL. 

Congress  was  discussing  the  force  bill,  which  frightened  the 
people  in  the  south.  Many  southerners  declared  that  they  de- 
spised Cleveland,  but  they  would  take  the  bitterest  pill  rather 
than  have  the  Force  Bill  adopted  by  Congress.  They  imagined* 
that  the  adoption  of  this  bill  would  give  the  negro  the  upper 
hand  in  the  south,  and  the  politicians  made  their  big  fight  on  the 
bill. 

JAMES  B.  WEAVER. 

A  great  number  of  voters  in  both  parties  being  greatly  dis- 
satisfied with  the  deplorable  conditions  brought  on  by  the  two 
administrations,  rebelled  and  nominted  Weaver.  But  they  made 
a  great  mistake  by  bringing  in  too  many  issues.  Had  they  taken 
up  and  discussed  only  the  financial  question.  General  Weaver 
would  have  probably  been  elected  president — as  it  would  have 
awakened  an  immense  enthusiasm  among  the  people. 

But  the  Money  Kings  of  Europe  had  determined  upon  the 
election  of  Grover  Cleveland,  and  the  well-paid  wire  workers  and 
politicians  carried  out  their  decree. 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

Cleveland  won  and  was  inaugurated  for  a  second  term  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1893.  He  continited  to  array  himself  against 
silver,  United  States  notes  and  treasury  notes,  determined  on 
their  destruction  as  legal  money,  and  that  national  bank  notes, 
based  upon,  and  with  gold,  be  made  the  sole  money  of  the  people. 

EXTRA  SESSION. 

President  Cleveland  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  to 
consider   the   repeal   of  the  silver   purchase   law. 

REDUCTION   DEPOSITS   NATIONAL  BANK. 
Statement   from   Comptroller   of  Currency,    1899,   vol.    1,   p 
683: 

March  6,  1893 $1,751,439,374 

October    3,    1893 1,451,124,330 

Shrinkage    $    300,315,044 


75 

DISASTROUS  FINANCIAL  PANIC  1893. 

President  Cleveland  declared  that  the  growing  hard  times 
were  caused  by  the  treasury  notes  issued  in  the  purchase  of  silver 
bullion,  and  called  a  special  session  of  Congress  to  repeal  the 
law  of  the  14th  of  July,  1890.  After  a  stormy  discussion  in 
Congress,  Cleveland,  through  promises  and  theats,  secured  its 
repeal  on  the  1st  of  November,  1893.  A  severe  money  crisis  was 
on  the  people  at  the  time  of  the  discussion  of  the  bill,  which  aided 
in  the  repeal. 

WORLD'S  FAIR. 

The  world's  fair  was  in  progress  on  the  1st  of  May,  1893,  at 
Chicago,  several  hundred  thousand  peope  were  making,  or  pre- 
paring to  make,  the  trip,  many  carried  money  with  them  in  lieu 
of  exchange,  not  wishing  to  be  put  to  the  trouble  to  be  identi- 
fied at  the  banks  in  Chicago.  This  taking  of  a  vast  amount  of 
money  out  of  the  banks  throughout  the  country,  when  they  were 
poorly  prepared  for  the  heavy  withdrawals,  owing  to  the  very 
contracted  money  volume,  and  transferring  it  to  the  pockets  of 
the  people,  had  a  very  disastrous  effect  and  caused  some  567 
banks  to  close  their  doors  in  May,  and  thus  deranged  the  busi- 
ness of  the  entire  country.  Some  of  the  banks  opened  a  few 
months  after,  but  the  greater  number  became  insolvent. 

REDUCTION  IN  CIRCULATION  OF  NATIONAL  BANKS. 

Report  of  Comptroller  of  Currency,  1899,  vol.  1,  p.  347-8, 
shows  the  enormous  reduction  in  the  circulation  of  the  National 
Banks. 

January  1,  1886 $317,443,454 

January    1,    1893 174,404,424 

Loss $143,039,030 

No   wonder   for   the   disastrous   panic    of    1893!      President 

Cleveland  brought  it  on! 

President  Cleveland  in  his  message  declared  that  the  repeal 

of  the  law  authorizing  the  purchase  of  silver  bullion,  would  bring 

immediate   prosperity,   but  this,   like  all   his   former   predictions 

about  silver,  proved  false. 

ENORMOUS  EXPORTS  OF  GOLD. 

The  shipments  of  gold  continued  and  the  hard  times  in- 
creased. From  the  1st  of  July,  1892,  to  the  1st  of  July,  1893, 
$87,506,463  net  of  gold  was  exported;  about  $1.25  per  capita 
of  the  circulation  thus  sent  out  of  the  country  and  taken  from 
the  debt-paying  power  of  the  people.  It  was  estimated  that 
there  were  3,000,000  persons  thrown  out  of  employment,  and 
wages  heavily  reduced.  Very  slow  sales  in  real  estate  and  large 
reductions  in  value. 

BRITISH  INDIA. 

British  India  in  June,  1893,  suspended  coinage  of  silver 
on  private  account,  and  our  government  also  having  closed 
its  mints  to  coinage,  took  away  the  heavy  demand  for  coinage, 
which  caused  silver  bullion  to  decline  rapidly  and  largely  in 
price;  just  what  the  Rothschilds  desired  and  had  been  striving 
years  to  secure.  They  finally  achieved  their  crafty  work  and 
were  ready  to  place  all   governments  on  a  gold  basis,  to  their 


76 

enormous  profit.  They  have  already  done  the  work  for  Austria- 
Hungary  and  made,  so  says  the  "Financial  Chronicle",  a  profit 
of  $80,000,000  by  the  transaction.  They  are  now  working  the 
United  States  "for  all  there  is  in  it".  .  They  have  succeeded  in 
forcing  the  price  of  silver  bullion  down  to  51  cents  per  ounce 
now  (Sept.  1,  1908)  and  have  but  slight  competition.  They  are 
the  great  silver  trust  of  the  world  and  defy  all  individual  and 
banking  competition.  The  United  States  is  the  power  that 
can  restore  silver  bullion  to  its  coinage  value  of  $1.29  per  counce, 
and  head  off  the  Rothschild  trust. 


CONTRACrriON  OF  THE  CIRCULATION. 

The  sole  and  only  cause  of  the  very  distressing  hard  times 
then,  1897,  prevailing  all  over  our  country  and  growing  all  the 
while  more  severe,  was  the  very  r^^stricted  volume  of  money  with 
which  the  people  had  to  carry  on  their  prodigiously  immense 
business.  To  add  to  the  the  severity  there  had  been  a  frightful 
contraction  in  the  previous  4  years.  The  money  in  circulation 
in  our  country  had  been  reduced  from  $24.44  per  capita  in  1892 
to  $21.10  per  capita  in  1896,  to-wit: 

Money  in 

Date.                             circulation.  Population.  Per  capita. 

June    30,    1894 $1,660,808,708  65,520,000  $24.28 

June    30,    1896 1,506,631,026  71,390,000  21.10 

Withdrawn $    154,177,682      (Treasurer's   report). 

In  a  nutshell  was  the  cause  of  the  large  shrinkage  in  thts 
value  of  all  farm  and  factory  products  as  well  as  real  estate,  the 
strain  in  collection  of  debts,  large  increase  in  failures,  increase 
of  idleness,  poverty  and  crime — runs  on  the  banks,  and  their 
almost  total  inability  to  loan  customers,  and  forced  such 
banks  as  the  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago  and  all  the  big 
banks  of  New  York  to  send  their  best  securities  to  London  to  be 
sold  at  a  sacrifice  for  gold  to  help  them  out  of  trouble. 

Shame  on  such  a  miserable,  weak  financial  system,  which 
produces  such  intolerable  conditions.  The  business  people  of 
France  never  go  abroad  to  borrow  money.  There  is  always  ample 
at  home  for  them.  A  circulation  of  $50  per  capita  is  maintained 
for  them. 


MONEY  CIRCULATION  1896. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  his  oflScial  report  stated 
that  the  money  in  circulation  on  July  1st,  1896,  amounted  to 
$1,509,725,200,  gave  the  population  of  our  country  at  71,518,000, 
and  rated  tne  per  capita  at  $22.10.  In  his  estimate  he  gave  the 
gold  coin  in  circulation  (outside  of  the  Treasury)  at  $456,128,483, 
but  did  not  locate  it.  The  total  in  gold  coin  in  all  the  banks  or 
every  kind  and  trust  companies  did  not  exceed  $2  2  6,000,000. 
In  the  pockets  of  the  people  there  did  not  exceed  $80,000,000. 
If  there  was  more  it  was  not  reliable  for  business,  as  it  did  not 
circulate.  Ihere  was  an  over-estimate  as  being  in  existence 
without  allowing  for  any  loss  by  destruction  since  the  issue  began 
of  the  following  monies: 


77 

Greenbacks    $346,681,016 

National    Bank    notes 214,096,621 

Subsidiary  silver  coin 75,730,781 

Total    $636,508,417 

The  estimate  of  the  loss  by  destruction  of  such  money,  since 
their  issue  began,  say,  greenbacks  in  1862,  National  Bank  notes 
in  1864,  and  subsidiary  silver  coins,  is  as  follows: 

Greenbacks     $50,000,000 

Bank    notes    30,000,000 

Sub.    silver    coin 25,000,000 

Total $105,000,000 

which,  with  the  overestimate  of  $150,00u,000  in  the  gold  coin, 
makes  a  shortage  of  about  $250,000,000,  or  say  $3.50  per  capita; 
showing  the  correct  per  capita  at  $17.60. 

The  bankers  of  Canada  report  United  States  silver  coin  and 
silver  certificates  in  circulation  in  that  country  at  $6,500,000. 

BURN  COTTON. 

The  value  of  cotton  in  189  6  fell  to  4  cents  per  pound,  so 
low  a  price  that  the  planters  held  a  meeting  and  discussed  the 
propriety  of  burning  a  portion  of  their  crop  to  lessen  the  quantity 
and  thus  force  up  the  price.  Politicians  declared  it  was  over 
production,  but  it  was  the  severe  contraction  of  the  circulation, 
which  brought  the  disastrous  panic  of  1893,  which  forced  about 
4,000,000   people  into   idleness,   and   checked   their  consumption, 

HOPS. 

In  1896  hops  fell  so  low  in  price  that  the  Governor  of  New 
York  urged  the  hop  farmers  to  give  up  raising  hops  as  it  did  not 
pay  cost  of  production.  The  same  year  the  very  low  price  for 
hops  prevailed  in  California. 

SIR  MORTON  FREWEN. 

Sir  Morton  Frewen,  in  a  published  letter,  states  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  circulation  in  the  Straits  Settlements  is  of  United 
States  silver  dollars;  he  further  states  that  he  cannot  account  for 
this,  unless  they  were  made  in  London,  No  loss  from  silver 
money  is  taken  in  the  estimate  of  the  treasurer. 

This  large  overestimate  is  for  the  purpose  of  making  the 
people  believe  that  they  have  a  much  larger  circulation  than  exists. 

Also,  should  be  deducted  from  the  active  circulation,  the 
vast  reserves  of  money  held  by  the  banks  that  are  not  loanable; 
the  hoards  in  city,  county,  and  state  treasuries,  not  deposited  in 
banks;  all  of  which  largely  reduces  the  active  money.  The  true 
circulation,  that  the  people  have  the  use  of,  surely  does  not  exceed 
$14.  per  capita;  a  sum  so  inadequate  that  it  has  brought  on  a 
credit  system  so  vast  as  to  cause  all  business  to  be  run  in  a  most 
harassing  and  unprofitable  manner,  causing  increasing  bank- 
ruptcies. 

It  is  full  time  that  the  people  were  awaking  from  their 
lethargy,  and  investigating  their  dangerous  condition. 

FRANCE. 

In  1893,  France,  which  is  not  as  large  as  Texas,  with  only 
38,300,000  population  had  the  following  supply  of  money: 


78 

Gold $850,000,000 

Silver    488,000,000 

Bank  Notes    673,000,000 

Total    $2,011,000,000 

Say  about  $50,000  per  capita. 

There  is  but  one  way  through  which  general  relief  to  our 
people  can  be  accomplished,  in  order  to  bring  them  out  of  their 
present  terribly  distressing  condition;  that  is  by  an  ample  supply 
of  money  being  placed  in  the  channels  of  trade  by  our  govern- 
ment. Money  is  the  only  power  that  can  restore  confidence. 
Money  is  the  only  power  that  can  back  up  the  enormous  credits 
which  carry  on  our  immensely  vast  internal  trade,  and  run  the 
wheels  of  industry  porfitably.  Money  is  the  only  power  that  can 
keep  our  people  fully  employed  at  generous  wages.  Without 
money  barbarism  would  have  sway.     This  was  written  in   1894. 

Gold  and  silver  are  not  and  cannot  be  produced  in  ample 
Volume  for  the  immense  necessities  of  our  people.  Gold  is 
not  even  adequate  for  the  limited  external  trade  of  our  country. 
Silver  cannot  be  produced  in  sufficient  quantity  for  the  growing 
wants  of  the  Asiatics. 

Bank  notes  are  not  suitable  for  money,  because  they  are 
not  and  cannot  be  made  a  legal  tender  to  pay  debts  between 
the  people,  besides  have  not  the  backing  and  wealth  to  increase 
their  circulation  in  adequate  volume  for  the  immense  trade  and 
wealth  of  our  country. 

SPECIE   BASIS. 

To  circulate  bank  notes  the  banks  have  repeatedly  without 
success  attempted  to  hold  a  gold  and  silver  basis.  When  the 
gold  and  silver  coin  vanished  by  exportation,  which  it  has  often 
done,  the  people  were  left  in  the  frightful  condition  of  little  or 
no  money  to  run  their  vastly  immense  industries,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence bankruptcy,  idleness  and  misery  prevailed  throughout 
our  country,  as  was  the  case  in  1837  and  1857. 

In  1893  our  population  numbered  about  seventy-two  million, 
and  is  now  increasing  at  the  rate  of  about  two  million  per  annum. 

The  wealth  of  our  country  was  estimated  at  about  sixty  thou- 
sand million  dollars,  a  goodly  share  of  which  changes  hands  re- 
peatedly during  the  year. 

The  annual  products  of  our  country  were  valued  at  about 
eighteen  thousand  million  dollars,  which  products  change  hands 
before  consumption  at  least  three  times,  making  the  prodigious 
sum  of  fifty-four  thousand  million  dollars  in  credits  and  money 
required  to  make  the  exchanges. 

The  debts  owing  by  our  respective  county  and  municipal  gov- 
ernments, corporations  and  people,  were  in  1893  estimated  at 
about  thirty  thousand  million  dollars,  requiring  annually  about 
one  thousand  five  hundred  million  interest  to  be  paid. 

The  stock  gambling  of  our  country  is  immense. 

The  above  transactions  are  mainly  carried  on  through  credits, 
but  those  credits  to  retain  confidence  and  move  smoothly,  must  be 
backed  by  an  ample  volume  of  legal  tender  money,  otherwise, 
periodically,  financial  panics  will  surely  prevail. 

Besides,  there  are  to  be  paid  with  cash,  custom  duties,  in- 
ternal  revenue,   postage,    taxes   of   state,    county   and   municipal 


79 

government,  employees  in  every  branch  of  business,  railroad 
travel,  hotel  lodging,  street  car  travel,  retail  trade,  card  gambling, 
and  small  money  in  hand  to  change  large  money;  all  combined 
requiring  a  prodigiously  vast  sum  of  cash  money  to  make  matters 
run  smoothly;  otherwise,  bankruptcy,  idleness,  poverty  and  mis- 
ery must  prevail.  Therefore,  if  money  is  the  power  absolutely 
essential  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  above,  why  not  ha-ve  an 
ample  amount  provided  for  absolute  success? 

The  people  should  have  a  much  larger  volume  of  money  pro- 
vided and  kept  in  circulation,  at  least  $5  0  per  capita.  If  gold 
and  silver  cannot  be  produced  in  ample  volume,  and  bank  notes 
being  unreliable,  then  why  not  have  our  government  issue  an 
additional  volume  of  full  legal  tender  United  States  notes,  backed 
up  by  the  wealth  of  its  72,000,000  people,  which,  with  the  gold 
and  silver  coin,  would  give  the  requisite  volume  of  money  to 
make  success  certain?  An  immense  amount  of  internal  improve- 
ments are  absolutely  required  throughout  every  portion  of  our 
country,  in  order  to  enable  matters  to  run  smoothly,  and  for  the 
protection  of  our  people. 

PROVIDING   CIRCULATION. 

1.  Good  roads,  to  enable  the  producers  to  transport  safely 
their  produce  to  market. 

2.  Vast  reservoirs  in  the  mountain  gorges,  to  hold  the  win- 
ter snows  and  prevent  inundations  of  the  valleys. 

3.  Slackwatering  and  leveeing  the  rivers,  to  give  transpor- 
tation at  all  seasons  of  the  year;  also  to  prevent  destruction  of 
life,  and  crops  from  overflow. 

4.  Improvement  of  harbors. 

5.  Fortification  of  seaports. 

6.  Erection  of  a  postoffice  and  other  public  buildings,  with 
secure  vaults,  in  every  city,  town  and  village  where  such  are 
needed  by  the  people. 

7.  Tree  planting  to  restore  froests  and  prevent  aridity  and 
washing  the  soil  into  the  ocean. 

8.  Loaning  to  states,  cities  and  counties  on  their  bonds 
bearing  about  3  per  cent  per  annum  interest,  to  make  needed  im- 
provements. 

9.  Loaning  to  banks  upon  government,  state,  city  and 
country  bonds,  at  3  per  cent  per  annum  interest. 

U.  S.  LEGAL  TENDER  NOTES. 

All  such  internal  improvements  and  loans  could  be  gradually 
made  through  an  issue  by  our  government  of  legal  tender  United 
States  notes  in  payment  for  the  land,  material  and  labor  neces- 
sary for  the  work.  The  volume  of  money  in  gold  and  silver  coin 
and  United  States  notes  should  be  maintained  at  least  at  $50  per 
capita  of  our  population,  which  amount  of  money  would  enable 
the  backing  up  of  the  vast  credit  business,  the  prompt  payment 
of  employees,  also  enabling  the  retail  trade  of  the  country  to  be 
run  upon  a  basis  of  fifty  per  cent  in  cash,  in  lieu  of  about  ninety- 
five  per  cent  credit  basis  as  at  present. 

To  do  the  business  of  our  country  upon  a  cash  basis  would 
be  an  impossibility.  It  can  only  be  done  mainly  with  credits, 
backed  up  with  ample  money,  otherwise  failure  is  certain.  But 
a  safe  per  cent  of  the  retail  business  should  be  done  with  cash, 
otherwise  failure  is  equally  sure. 


For  several  years  the  travel  on  railroads,  hotel  business,  col- 
lections, employment  of  the  people,  wages  and  salaries,  value  of 
property  and  merchandise,  have  been  gradually  falling  off,  owing 
to  the  reduced  volume  of  money,  and  wreckage  and  bankruptcy 
have  followed  in  its  wake. 

RESULT  OF  THE  PANIC  OF   1893. 

The  exceedingly  disastrous  financial  panic  of  1893  was 
brought  on  by  the  vicious  action  of  Grover  Cleveland.  He  bought 
government  bonds  from  the  National  Banks  and  paid  them  28  per 
cent  premium,  which  enabled  the  banks  to  reduce  largely  their 
National  Bank  Note  circulation,  causing  a  severe  contraction  of 
the  circulation.  His  very  bad  administration  caused  enormous  de- 
preciation in  the  value  of  all  real  and  personal  property,  and  the 
decline  in  the  value  of  all  products  forced  a  number  of  railroads 
into  the  hands  of  receivers,  and  about  3,000,000  people  into  idle- 
ness, heavy  reduction  in  wages  and  salaries,  and  wrecked  and 
ruined  a  great  many  people. 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

President  Cleveland  turned  out,  for  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  most  unfortunate  selection  ever  made  to  fill  that  high 
office.  His  life  before  entering  politics  was  devoted  to  studying 
technicalities  in  the  law,  to  secure  the  acquittal  by  magistrate* 
of  persons  charged  before  them  with  crime. 

His  conduct  in  New  York  city  in  his  first  canvass,  as  stated 
in  the  "Herald,",  was  reprehensible. 

His  intermeddling  in  1885  v/ith  the  legislation  in  Congress, 
in  writing  and  telling  Congressmen  what  they  should  do,  before 
being  installed  into  the  office  of  president,  was  extreme  presump- 
tion and  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  respectable  citizen. 

His  course  in  securing  the  repeal  of  the  silver  purchase  law 
of  the  14th  of  July,  1890,  through  threats  and  promises,  was 
tyrannical  and  in  violation  of  law,  as  well  as   decency. 

His  refusal  to  purchase  silver  bullion  during  the  closing 
months  of  the  existence  of  that  law,  which  he  a  short  time  prev- 
ious declared  was  mandatory,  was  a  violation  of  law  and  his  oath 
of  office,  and  setting  laws  at  defiance,  which  merited  impeach- 
ment. 

His  most  outrageous  conduct  in  executing  the  sale  through 
Francis  L.  Stetson,  his  late  law  partner,  to  the  Rothschilds  and 
Morgan  syndicate,  of  $55,500,000  in  U.  S.  four  per  cent  bonds, 
at  the  very  small  premium  of  four  and  a  half  per  cent,  while  the 
open  market  value  was  twenty-two  per  cent  premium,  was  ex- 
tremely culpable,  and  for  it  he  should  have  been  called  to  the  bar 
of  the  House,  to  answer    for  impeachment. 

His  course  throughout  in  the  sale  of  $262,500,000  in  U.  S. 
bonds,  saddling  upon  the  people  this  enormous  principal  of  debt, 
besides  $245,000,000  interest  upon  the  same,  making  the  vast 
sum  in  principal  and  interest  of  $507,500,000  of  debt,  in  time  of 
peace,  deserved  the  severest  censure  of  every  honest  citizen. 

PURCHASE  OF  BONDS. 

President  Cleveland  bought  from  the  National  Banks  a  vast 
amount  of  government  bonds,  and  paid  the  banks  28  per  cent,  a 
very  high  premium,  which  enabled  the  banks  to  reduce  the  Na- 
tional Bank  note  circulation  very  largely.     This  severe  contrac- 


81 

tion  caused  a  very  heavy  strain  upon  all  business,  causing  great 
increase  of  bankrupts. 

MESSAGE    TO   CONGRESS. 

After  having  bought  a  vast  amount  of  bonds,  and  paying 
the  very  high  premium  of  28  per  cent.  President  Cleveland 
changed  his  tactics  and  concluded  l^e  would  sell  government 
bonds,  and  sent  a  message  to  Congress  requesting  the  privilege 
to  do  so.     Here  it  is: 

"This  leads  me  to  earnestly  present  the  desirability  of 
granting  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  a  better  power  than 
now  exists  to  issue  bonds  to  protect  our  gold  reserve  when  for 
any  reason  it  should  be  necessary.  Our  currency  is  in  such  a 
confused  condition,  and  our  financial  affairs  are  apt  to  assume 
at  any  time  so  critical  a  position  that  it  seems  to  me  such  a 
course   is    dictated   by   ordinary   prudence. 

"GROVER   CLEVELAND." 

Executive  Mansion,  March  29,  1894. 

Congress  made  no  reply  to  his  message,  which  was  tanta- 
mount to   denial  of  authority  to  sell. 

SALE  OP  BONDS. 

Notwithstanding  this  declination  of  Congress  to  authorize 
President  Cleveland  to  sell  bonds,  being  immediately  after  hav- 
ing bought  very  largely  of  them,  and  paid  the  very  high  prem- 
ium of  28  per  cent.  President  Cleveland,  without  giving  any 
public  notice  of  intention  to  sell,  did  privately  and  quietly  make 
sale  of  $55,500,000  4  per  cent  government  bonds,  and  at  the 
remarkably  low  price  of  4  V2  per  cent  premium  to  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan  and  the  Rothschilds,  at  the  time  bonds  were  selling  in 
the  open  market  at  22  per  cent  premium.  Besides,  young  Car- 
lisle, son  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was  sent  to  Europe 
to  receive  the  proceeds  from  the  Rothschilds,  an  unheard  of  pro- 
ceeding. All  transactions  heretofore  had  been  settled  in  the 
Treasury  Department.  The  people  were  amazed  at  the  trans- 
action. 

CRITICISM   OF   BOND   TRANSACTION. 

The  leading  newspapers  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
United  States  Senate  very  severely  criticized  President  Cleve- 
land, both  for  the  purchase  of  government  bonds  and  paying 
the  very  high  rate  of  2  8  per  cent  premium  for  them,  which 
enabled  the  National  Banks  to  reduce  largely  their  National 
Bank  Note  circulation.  Also  for  selling  U.  S.  4  per  cent  govern- 
ment bonds,  without  public  notice,  to  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  and 
the  Rothschilds,  at  the  extremely  low  rate  of  4^  per  cent  pre- 
mium, while  they  were  selling  in  the  open  market  at  22  per 
cent  premium,  and  just  after  having  bought  bonds  and  paid  28 
per  cent  premium  for  them,  both  astounding  transactions. 

Here  are  a  few  of  the  very  many  severe  criticisms  upon 
the  bond  transactions  of  President  Cleveland: 

"S.  F.  BULLETIN." 

"It  was  an  extremely  bad  sign  of  the  times  to  see  Cleve- 
land's deal  with  the  Morgan-Belmont  syndicate,  which  cost  the 
people  of  the  United  States  at  least  $10,000,000,  received  with 
so  much  indifference  and  seeming  apathy.     It  spoke  very  badly 


82 

for  the  intelligence  and  courage  of  the  leading  men  of  the  United 
States  that  such  a  shameless  act  was  not  visited  with  an  over- 
whelming storm  of  indignation.  To  Senator  Marion  Butler  of 
North  Carolina  a  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  for  having 
the  courage  to  come  out  openly  and  boldly  and  say 
what  he  thinks  about  the  leader  of  his  party.  Senator  Butler 
says,  among  other  things:  'Cleveland  is  going  to  England  to 
get  gold  when  he  could  pay  the  bonds  in  silver.  He  does  not 
pay  them  in  silver  because  he  is  a  hireling  of  the  goldbugs.  I 
charge  it  here,  and  I  will  charge  it  on  the  floor  of  the  United 
States  Senate.  We  shall  never  see  better  times  until  we  drive 
traitors  out  of  the  White  House  and  get  an  honest  man  for 
president.'  " 

**N.  Y.  SUN." 
Under  the  heading  of  "Client  and  Counsel;"  "Francis  Lind 
Stetson,  the  lawyer  who  conducted  the  late  bond  negotiation, 
explains  the  part  he  took  in  the  transaction  by  stating  that  he 
represented  J.  Pierpont  Morgan.  Mr.  Stetson  says  he  has  been 
Morgan's  counsel  since  1887.  As  Grover  Cleveland  was  a  part- 
ner of  Mr.  Stetson  from  1889  to  1892,  Mr.  Morgan  must  have 
been  a  client  of  Mr.  Cleveland  as  well  as  of  Mr.  Stetson.  The 
explanation  of  Mr.  Stetson  presents  Mr.  Cleveland  as  conduct- 
ing a  transaction  through  a  former  partner  in  which  there  was 
a  profit  of  from  $12,000,000  to  $16,000,000,  according  as  the 
syndicate  may  sell  the  bonds." 

"SAN   FRANCISCO  BULLETIN/' 

"It  was  an  extremely  bad  sign  of  the  times  to  see  Cleve- 
land's deal  with  the  Morgan-Belmont  syndicate.  And  what  is 
Cleveland  doing  now?  Loafing  and  fishing  around  Buzzard's 
Bay,  paying  no  attention  to  his  ofiicial  duties,  though  he  has 
in  his  hands  some  thirty  cases  of  army  and  navy  courts-martial 
and  courts  of  inquiry  for  review,  some  of  which  affect  most  ser- 
iously the  character,  reputation  and  standing  of  the  parties  in- 
volved. Once  in  a  while  some  Cleveland  cuckoo  bursts  out  with 
the  assertion  that  the  present  administration  will  go  down  to 
posterity  as  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  in  the  history  of  the 
nation.  If  so,  heaven  help  the  rest,  for  if  there  ever  was  an  ad- 
ministration characterized  by  imbecility,  insanity,  stupidity  and 
general  worthlessnes  it  is  the  present  one.  Grover  Cleveland 
may  not  be  a  dishonest  man  in  public  life,  but  he  is  something 
almost  as  bad;  that  is,  a  narrow-minded,  prejudicted  official, 
stubborn  to  the  last  degree,  and  wise  only  in  his  own  conceit. 
We  can  guard  against  a  knave,  but  there  is  no  protection  against 
a  foolish  man." 

"THE   AMERICAN   BANKER." 

"In  selling  these  bonds  they  were  given  to  a  syndicate  at  4 
per  cent  premium,  when,  at  the  same  time,  they  were  worth  20 
per  cent  premium  in  the  open  market,  and  in  the  last  sale  of 
$100,000,000  of  bonds,  all  bonds  bidden  for  by  fictitious  bids 
were  also  given  to  this  syndicate,  when  at  the  same  time,  other 
parties  offered  to  pay  7  per  cent  more  for  them.  So  that,  in  all 
these  bond  sales,  millions  more  were  tossed  into  the  lap  of  this 
syndicate  at  the  expense  of  a  tax-ridden  people." 

"May  we  not  conclude  that  there  has  been  an  amendment 
made  to  that  grand  declarattion  of  Abraham  Lincoln  that  'This  is 


83 

a  government  by  the  people,  for  the  people,'  and  that  that  amend- 
ment is,  'This  is  a  government  of  the  people  for  the  benefit  of 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  Belmont,  Rothschild,  and  their  syndicate 
successors?' — M.  B." 

"BULLETIN." 

"No  self-respecting  nation  should  be  willing  to  consent  to  be 
subject  to  the  behests,  not  to  say  the  whims,  of  the  great  money- 
lenders of  the  world.  Such  a  condition  is  certain  to  destroy  the 
independence  of  the  country.  *  *  *  jt  remained  for  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  and  Secretary  Carlisle  to  take  the  first  step  to- 
ward the  enslavement  of  the  country  to  the  money  power.  The 
very  men  who  are  now  making  a  virtue  of  protecting  the  treas- 
ury were  engaged  in  using  the  greenback  syphon  to  drain  the 
treasury  of  gold  for  the  purpose  of  creating  distrust  and  forcing 
the  issue  of  more  bonds.  A  crisis  was  reached.  Then,  in  their 
folly  and  financial  cowardice,  if  they  were  not  influenced  by  other 
considerations,  Cleveland  and  his  secretary  made  the  onerous  and 
disgraceful  contract  with  the  syndicate,  as  the  managers  of  the 
New  York  and  London  money  ring  call  themselves.  They  stood 
the  government  up  in  its  apparent  distress  and  sold  it  fifty  odd 
millions  of  gold  for  long-term  4  per  cent  bonds  at  16  per  cent 
below  their  market  value,  and  they  are  now  being  praised  for 
their  financial  wisdom,  integrity  and  generosity.  It  remains  for 
Congres  to  expose  the  transaction  and  prevent  a  repetition  of 
the  disgrace." 

♦*S.  P.  BULLETIN." 

"President  Cleveland,  in  going  to  the  representative  of  the 
Rothschilds  for  financial  help  for  this  government,  has  followed 
an  ancient  precedent.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Rothschilds  to 
help  out  (for  a  consideration)  nations  whose  rulers,  by  their 
folly  or  incompetence,  have  plunged  them  into  financial  distress. 
In  that  business  they  have  become  the  righest  and  most  powerful 
family  in  the  world. 

"The  house  with  which  Mr.  Cleveland  did  business  is  the 
London  branch  of  the  Rothschilds,  through  its  New  York  a^ent, 
Mr.  Belmont.  Mr.  Belmont  is  the  same  race  as  his  principals, 
and  like  them,  too,  is  of  a  family  that  has  changed  its  name. 
When  the  first  Belmont  came  to  New  York  his  name  was  Schoen- 
berg,  which  is  the  German  equivalent  for  Belmont  (beautiful 
mountain).  This  name  in  turn  was  probably  assumed  at  that 
critical  time  in  the  history  of  the  Jews  in  Europe  when  they  were 
given  the  hard  choice  of  purchasing  fine  names  or  assuming  ugly 
ones  of  their  enemies'  choosing.  The  Rothschilds'  name  was 
Bauer.  The  newer  title  was  assumed  by  Mayer  Anselm  Bauer, 
the  first  of  the  great  bankers.  It  suits  the  emblem  of  the  fam- 
ily, 'Red  Shield'.  " 

"N.  Y.  SUN." 

In  an  editorial  published  in  the  Sun,  headed  "A  Futile  Mes- 
sage", that  paper  said:  "In  the  message  which  President  Cleve- 
land sent  into  Congress  yesterday,  he  proposes  that  the  $500,- 
000,000  of  outstanding  legal  tender  notes  shall  be  retired  and 
cancelled  by  the  sale  of  an  equal  amount  of  fifty-year  3  per  cent 
bonds,  payable  in  gold,  principal  and  interest,  and  receivable  at 
the  Treasury  as  security  at  their  par  value  for  national  bank  cir- 
culation.    This  is  in  effect,  a  proposition  that  the  country  shall 


84 

pay  the  national  banks  $15,000,000  in  gold  every  year  for  fifty 
years,  or  $750,000,000,  altogether,  for  supplying  it  with  $500,- 
000,000  of  paper  money  which  it  now  gets  for  nothing  except 
the  loss  of  interest  on  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  gold 
needed  for  redemption  fund!  The  naked  statement  of  this 
scheme  is  suflScient  to  insure  its  rejection  by  Congress  without 
debate,  and  by  the  entire  body  of  our  citizens,  except,  perhaps, 
national    bank   officers." 

BANKERS  VS.  U.  S.  NOTES. 

The  bankers  in  their  great  gatherings  at  Baltimore,  Chicago 
and  Atlanta,  also  at  every  meeting  of  the  State  Bankers'  Associ- 
ation, from  1890  to  1896,  urged  the  destruction  of  the  green- 
backs, and  their  funding  into  bonds,  and  the  banks  authorized 
to  issue  all  the  paper  money,  with  gold  basis,  for  the  people.  In 
obedience  to  their  command.  President  Cleveland  several  times 
urged  the  scheme  in  his  message  to  Congress,  for  adoption.  They 
are  still  at  their  vile  work.  Have  the  bankers  forgotten  the 
financial  panic  of  1837  to  1846,  and  that  of  1857  to  1862,  when 
they  filled  the  land  with  their  state  bank  notes,  "wildcat"  and 
"stub-tail"  depreciated  and  worthless  bank  notes,  causing  wide- 
spread suffering  and  impoverishment  of  the  people? 

Would  the  bankers  again  force  the  business  men  of  the 
country  to  subscribe  to  and  hunt  over  a  counterfeit  detector  of 
many  pages  to  learn  the  genuine  bank  notes  from  the  counter- 
feits, also  to  keep  posted  upon  the  failing  banks? 

Have  the  bankers  failed  to  read  the  history  of  the  banking 
ways  in  this  country  previous  to  the  issue  of  the  greenbacks  in 
1862? 

Have  they  who  are  young  in  the  business  failed  to  read  of 
the  bribing  and  corrupting  of  members  of  the  legislatures  to  se- 
cure charters  for  their  banks  with  the  privilege  of  issuing  bank 
notes,  as  was  done  in  nearly  every  state? 

The  writer  in  the  forties  was  a  dealer  in  uncurrent  bank 
notes  and  knows  all  about  the  many  villainous  schemes  and 
fraudulent  practices  carried  on  by  men  bearing  the  name  of 
bankers,  in  securing  charters  for  banks  and  issuing  bank  notes 
based  on  specie.  Even  those  who  acted  honorably,  their  banks 
failed  for  the  want  of  specie,  when  it  disappeared  by  exportation 
and  the  bank  notes  became  worthless. 

CRISIS  OF   1893. 

"Whom  the  gods  would  destroy  they  first  make  mad."  This 
aptly  fits  the  bankers,  who  are  bent  on  a  gold  basis,  regardless 
of  the  consequences.  A  specie  basis  system  carried  the  banks 
down  and  brought  on  that  frightful  panic,  which  lasted  from 
1837  to  1847.  A  specie  basis  carried  the  banks  down  and 
brought  on  that  destructive  financial  panic,  which  lasted  from 
1857  into  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  When  the  financial  panic 
broke  forth  in  1873,  the  banks  throughout  the  country,  except 
the  Chemical  of  New  York,  and  a  few  others,  suspended  pay- 
ments to  depositors  for  about  seven  weeks,  but  being  on  a  green- 
back basis  were  enabled  to  resume  payments  in  that  short  time. 
Had  they  been  on  a  gold  basis,  most  of  them  would  not  have 
succeeded  in  resuming  for  years.  Again,  1893,  the  banks  were 
on  a  greenback  basis,  which  enabled  them  to  weather  the  finan- 
cial storm  with  about  600  banks  being  carried  down.     Had  they 


85 

been  on  a  gold  basis,  but  few  banks  would  have  escaped  wreck- 
age. In  old  times  the  ratio  of  the  specie  basis  ranged  in  some 
states  as  high  as  33  1-3  per  cent.  At  this  time  a  vast  number 
of  the  banks  are  very  deficient  in  both  gold  and  silver,  being 
from  1  to  5  per  cent. 

ENORMOUS   GOLD   EXPORTS. 

From  July  1st,  1888,  to  August  1st,  1896,  $332,887,320  net 
of  gold  has  been  exported  from  our  country. 

BANKERS  FOR  GOLD   1896. 

Yet  with  the  small  ratio  of  gold  held  by  the  banks  for  de- 
posits and  circulation,  the  bankers  were  working  hard  to  have 
the  greenbacks  funded  into  bonds  and  their  banks  placed  on  a 
gold  basis,  while  certain  bankruptcy  would  surely  come  to  them 
and  the  people.  Therefore  it  looked  as  if  the  bankers  were  go- 
ing mad.  If  their  scheme  was  successful,  the  result  would  be 
that  all  the  banks  throughout  the  country  would  be  crushed, 
except  a  very  few  strong  ones  which  would  be  left,  and  they 
would  establish  branches  and  do  the  business.  Even  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Atkinson's  the  Third  National  Bank  of  Boston,  had  only 
5  V2  cents  specie  to  each  dollar  of  deposits  and  circulation.  The 
National  Union  Ban)t  of  New  York  had  only  4%  cents  specie. 
Mr.  Jos.  C.  Hendrix,  president  of  the  National  Bankers'  Associa- 
tion, was  at  the  head  of  this  bank. 

CONDITION  OF  BANKS  IN  1896. 

Here  is  a  statement  of  the  condition  of  some  of  the  leading 
national  banks  of  New  York  and  Boston  on  August  29,  1896,  as 

taken  from  the  "American  Banker",  showing  how  badly  off  they 

were  for  gold,  yet  wanted  to  be  forced  to  a  gold  basis.  Insano 
on  gold! 

NEAV  YORK  CITY. 

Deposits  &  Sepcie  (gold 

Name.                             Circulation          and  silver)  Ilatio 

American  Exchange $19,634,000           $     408.000  2i/sc 

Bank  of  Commerce 16,113,000                335,200  2^4 

Central    8,267,000                152,000  2 

First    17,788,000                 457,600  2% 

Western    11,198,000                219,300  2 

Union    8,482,600                 401,200  4% 

Liberty    2,396,200                   30,600  11/2 

Chase    16,450,200             1,298,000  8 

Fourth     17,525,400             1,048,200  6 

Gallatin    5,563,000                246,900  4  Vz 

BOSTON  BANKS. 

Tremont     $    1,507,000  $       50,000  S^^c 

Atlantic    1,667,000  55,000  31/2 

Hancock    843,000  12,000  1 14 

Shoe  and  Leather 3,325,000  55,000  1%" 

Shawmut 7,762,000  328,000  3% 

Bank  of  North  America 1,526,000  38,000  21/2 

Boston    2,521,000  68,000  2  % 

Third 6,986,000  267,000  4 

Broadway 2,010,000  48,000  2 1/2  ' 

Commonwealth    5,646,000  157,000  3 


86 

Also,   condition  of  others  as  taken   from  the  report  of  the 
comptroller  of  the  currency  of  the  28th  of  September,  1895: 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

Flour  City  National $1,781,977  $       30,561  2      c 

Traders'    National 1,803,114  66,972  21/2 

PHILADELPHIA,   PA. 

Third    National $   2,764,648  $       37,477  IVzC 

Second  National 1,196,976  44.590  4 

Tradesmen  National 3,556,067  63,944  2 

Chestnut   National 3,058,158  112,257  4 

Commercial    1,910,608  63,972  4 

CINCINNATI,  O. 

Fourth  National $2,719,313  $       22,270  1      c 

Market    National 1,938,336  13,876  1 

Fifth  National 1,328,313  31,190  2V2 

EASTPORT. 

Frontier    $       250,000  $        5,25Q  214c 

GARDINER. 

Merchants    $         107,000  $  551  %c 

Oakland     58,331  781  1  Va 

PORTLAND. 

Cumberland    $     248,568  $         8,100  3%c 

Portland $1,440,547  34,011  21/2 

Casco     1,676,029  6,703  3% 

Chapman 446,746  13,877  3% 

BURLINGTON- VERMONT. 

Merchants     $1,329,149  $       37,908  2%^ 

Howard    663,846  23,651  3% 

RUTLAND. 

Merchants $       490,646  $         9,040  2      c 

If  the  writer  had  space  he  could  show  the  weak  condition  of 
95  per  cent  of  the  banks,  to  be  put  on  a  gold  basis. 

VALUE  OF  PRODUCTS. 

/       Low  prices  which  prevailed  during  Cleveland's  second  term 

/were  caused  by  his  very  bad  management  of  finances. 

/  January  11,   1894.      "We  should  not  overlook  the  fact  that 

/      the  farmers  and  planters  have  been  compelled  in  many  cases  to 

/        sell  their  productions  at  the  lowest  prices  on  record,  and  the  loss 

/         of  income  from  that  circumstance  will  inevitably  affect  the  de- 

V         mand  for  goods.     Had  the  case  been  different,  there  would  now 

V^    probably  be  a  more  extensive  resumption  of  business." 

TRAINS  ROBBED. 

This  statement  shows  the  frightful  condition  caused  by  idle- 
ness during  Cleveland's  last  term.     Idleness  causes  viciousness: 
Year.  Trains. 

1893 33 

1894    34 

1895 49 

1896    28 

Total  number  of  trains  robbed.  .  .  .144 


87 

BANK  FAILURES. 

Failures  of  banks  owing  to  the  very  bad  management  of  the> 
^finances  by  Cleveland: 

Bank 
Year.  Failures. 

1895    162 

1896    186 

Total    bank    failures  . 348 

The   above    statement   shows   the    disastrous    effects    of   the 
tcious  administration  of  President  Grover  Cleveland. 

A  CUT  IN  SALARIES. 

Special  to  The  News. 
Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  July  16. — "The  county  commissioners  of  Lara- 
mie County  have  been  struck  with  the  retrenchment  idea  and  a 
wholesale  reduction  of  salaries  is  in  order.  Paul  Bailey,  deputy 
clerk  of  the  district  court,  has  been  dismissed.  The  Deputy  County 
Clerk's  salary  has  been  reduced  from  $100  to  83,33  per  month. 
The  second  deputy  from  $75  to  $60  per  month.  The  Deput:^ 
Treasurer  has  his  salary  reduced  from  $100  to  $75  per  month. 
One  Deputy  Sheriff  is  reduced  to  $100  to  $75  per  month  and  the 
second  to  $2.50  per  day.  The  wholesale  reductions  have  caused 
considerable  comment,  not  especially  favorable  to  the  commission- 
ers."    July  17,  1896. 

AGAINST  GREENBACKS 

The  Hon.  James  H.  Eckels,  June  30,  1898,  was  appointed 
Comptroller  of  the  Currency  during  Mr.  Cleveland's  last  adminis- 
tration, a  young  lawyer  of  no  financial  ability  and  no  knowledge 
of  the  National  Baking  system.  He  reminded  the  Republican 
leaders  that  there  was  still  much  to  be  done  to  retain  the  support 
of  gold  Democrats  who,  in  189  6,  voted  for  McKinley.  Mr.  Eckels 
conveyed  a  hint  to  the  Republicans  in  this  language: 

"The  Republicans,  with  a  safe  opposition  party,  could  be 
successfully  attacked  on  their  lack  of  evidence  of  a  willingness 
to  deal  in  a  strong  and  positive  way  with  the  currency  question." 

The  strong  and  positive  way  in  which  Mr.  Eckels  wanted  to 
have  the  Republicans  deal  with  the  currency  question  was  the  en- 
actment of  a  currency  bill  at  the  next  session  of  Congress  flatly 
declaring  for  the  gold  standard  and  preparing  for  the  substitution 
for  greenbacks  by  national  bank  notes. 

WILLIAM  Mckinley. -^ 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1897,  William  McKinley  was  inaugurat- 
ed President.  The  entire  country  at  that  time  was  still  suffering 
frightfully  from  the  very  disastrous  financial  panic  brought  on  by 
President  Grover  Cleveland  during  his  second  term.  Also,  what 
occurred  after  that  gradually  brought  back  improved  conditions. 

SHORT  CROPS  IN  EUROPE. 

The  partial  failure  of  the  grain  crop  in  1897  in  Europe,  also 
short  crops  in  most  wheat  exporting  countries,  except  that  of  our 
country,  which  produced  bountiful  crops,  enabled  securing  higher 
prices,  especially  increased  to  a  still  higher  figure  by  Leiter,  the 
multi-millionaire  going  wild  on  wheat.  This  helped  conditions 
in  all  sections  of  our  country. 


WAR  AGAINST  SPAIN. 

In  1898,  our  country  declared  war  against  Spain.  The  army- 
was  immediately  filled  with  volunteers  recruited  from  the  very 
great  number  of  idle.  In  order  to  prosecute  the  war,  our  Govern- 
ment in  March,  1898,  caused  to  be  issued  $200,000,000  in  3  per 
cent  Government  Bonds.  There  was  no  necessity  for  an  issue 
of  bonds  because  congress  could  have  directed  the  issue  of  that 
sum  in  U.  S.  legal  tender  notes  and  saved  paying  interest.  In  fact, 
an  issue  of  $500,000,000  in  such  notes  would  have  been  a  great 
blessing,  as  the  entire  country  was  greatly  in  need  of  much  more^ 
money.     But  those  in  power  wanted  to  help  the  National  Banks. 

INCREASED  NATIONAL  BANK  CIRCULATION. 

The  National  Banks  secured  the  Government  Bonds  and  were 
thus  enabled  to  deposit  them  with  the  government,  and  authorized 
to  issue  a  like  amount  in  National  Bank  Notes.  The  large  in- 
crease in  circulation,  of  $200,000,000  in  National  Bank  Notes, 
was  of  immense  benefit  to  the  people  in  aiding  them  to  rebuild 
the  business,  and  very  largely  checked  bankruptcy,  but  had  the 
sum  been  $500,000,000  that  increased  circulation  would  have 
acted  like  a  charm.  The  small  favors  were  most  thankfully  re-j 
^ceived  by  the  people. 

WAR  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AGAINST  THE  BOERS. 

Vast  quantities  of  supplies  were  taken  by  Great  Britain  in  the 
war  against  the  Boers,  which  was  a  great  help  to  our  people  in^ 
enabling  them  to  get  out  of  that  disastrous  panic  of  1893. 

ALASKAN  GOLD. 

The  great  number  of  people  going  to  Alaska,  giving  em- 
ployment to  a  very  large  number  of  people,  and  the  taking  of 
vast  supplies  in  working  the  gold  mines,  and  the  sending  back  of 
large  amounts  of  gold,  and  its  diffusion  among  our  people,  helped 
wonderfully  to  get  our  people  over  the  panic. 

WORLD'S  INCREASE  OP  GOLD. 

The  very  large  iricrease  in  the  product  of  gold  throughout 
the  world  helped  conditions  everywhere  in  restoring  confidence  and 
great  industrial  activity  to  the  people  of  our  country.     Through 
the  exceedingly  fortuitous  circumstances  recited,  our  country  got 
relief  from  that  exceedingly  disastrous  financial  panic  which  broke 
out  in  1893,  brought  on  solely  by  the  incompetency  of  President 
Grover  Cleveland  in  forcing  the  vast  contraction  of  the  circula- 
tion of  our  country,  also  in  his  very  bad  management.     Had  theV 
financial  affairs  of  our  country,  and  the  coinage  of  the  silver  dol-  \ 
lars  been  allowed  to  continue,  thus  largely  increasing  the  circu-    A 
lation,    our   people   would    not   have   suffered   from   a   panic,    nor    / 
would   those   348   banks  have  been   forced   to   close   their   doors  /  ^ 
and  fail  in  1895  and  1896.  ^ 


WILLIAM  McKINLEY. 


On  the  4th  of  March,  1901  William  McKinley  was  inaugur- 

/  ated  President  for  a  second  term.     The  entire  country  had  been 

/     brought   to    very    prosperous    conditions    through    the    fortuitous 

/      circumstances  of  famine,  wars  and  increase  of  money  that  had 

/        taken   place   during   his   first   term.      Labor   in    all   sections   had 


89 

had  greatly  improved  and  prosperity  prevailed.  Thus  during 
this  scene  of  activity,  a  villainous  assassin,  an  ignorant  man, 
struck  down  our  President,  a  most  unfortunate  occurence  for 
our  people. 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  vice-president,  upon  being  notified 
of  the  death  of  President  McKinley,  was  immediately  sworn  into 
the  office  of  president.  President  Roosevelt  entered  office  during 
very  favorable  conditions  throughout  the  country,  and  to  the  end 
of  his  term.  During  the  war  against  Spain  Roosevelt  had  made 
himself  quite  popular,  then  likewise  after  his  inauguration  and 
services  as  president,  up  to  the  end  of  his  first  term.  The  peo- 
ple being  quite  prosperous  did  not  desire  to  see  any  change  made, 
and  were  desirous  of  seeing  well  enough  let  alone,  thus  his  elec- 
tion was  scured  for  another  term  without  it  being  made  neces- 
sary to  make  any  very  great  effort  to  secure  his  re-election. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1905,  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  inaugu- 
rated president  for  a' second  term.     Upon  entering  office  at  the 
beginning  of  his  first  term,  the  entire  country  had  just  recovered 
from   that   extremely   disastrous    financial    panic   of    1893,    from 
which    it    recovered    during    the    term    of    President    McKinley 
through  the   fortuitous   circumstances   of   famine,   wars   and   the 
discovery  of  gold,  giving  generous  employment  to  the  people,  and 
enabling  the  large  increase  in  the  circulation  of  gold  and  National 
*   Bank  notes,  all  of  which  very  favorable  conditions  continued  on 
/    after  his  election  to  a  second  term,  and  up  to  about  the  end  of 
/  '    1906,  when  a  reaction  set  in  and  conditions  became  worse  up  to 
/       the  breaking  out  of  the  panic  of  October,   1907,  and  have  been 
I         growing  more  disastrous  ever  since,  and  will  cotninue  to  do  so 
i         until  relief  comes  through  an  ample  volume  of  the  circulation, 
V^^_or  conditions  equalize  through  depreciation  of  values. 

y^  WANTING  IN  FINANCIAL  ABILITY. 

/  Had  President  Roosevelt  been  a  man  of  good  financial 
/  ability,  and  had  he  familiarized  himself  with  the  rapid  and  vast 
/  growth  of  the  wealth  of  our  country,  brought  about  by  the  sev- 
/  eral  fortuitous  circumstances,  which  have  happened  during  the 
I       several    years   just   previous,    and    sent   a    message   to    Congress 

V  making  known  the  fact  of  the  total  inadequacy  of  the  circulating 
^  medium  to  meet  the  enormous  demands  of  our  intensely  ener- 
getic people,  and  urged  upon  Congress  to  create  and  issue  a  gen- 
erous and  ample  volume  of  money  to  maintain  and  continue  the 
former  very  prosperous  conditions,  when  all  the  people  through- 
out the  country  were  fully  employed  and  contentment  reigned; 
then  had  Congress  made  the  provision,  which  the  banks  had  not 
the  wealth  to  produce,  prosperity  would  have  been  maintained. 
But  his  wanting  in  financial  ability  and  the  secretaries  under 
him  mismanaging  the  finances  have  forced  the  business  people  to 
suffer  severely,  and  such  disastrous  conditions  will  continue 
until  the  correct  relief  be  granted. 

y  Witness  within  the  past  eighteen  months  the  enormous  ^e- 
/^preciation  in  the  value  of  the  railroad  properties,  estimated  at 
/  over  three  thousand  million  dollars.  The  railroads  had  in  their 
j  employ  1,500,000  persons;  about  250,000  have  been  discharged, 
I  which  means  that  their  consumptive  powers  are  sadly  checked, 
I        bringing  suffering  upon  a  class  of  our  most  deserving  workers; 

Y  also,  estimated  that  about  3,000,000  from  other  occupations  are 


90 

die.  Gradual  depreciation  in  the  value  of  real  estate,  and  slow 
of  sale,  throughout  the  country,  building  in  all  sections  falling 
off.  Take  the  month  of  August  of  this  year  compared  with  same 
month  last  year  in  the  25  cities  enumerated  in  this  pamphlet 
showing  losses  ranging  from  13  to  89  per  cent.  In- 
vestigate the  cotton  mareket.  In  January,  1906,  cotton 
in  New  York  City  was  selling  at  13  cents  per  pound;  now, 
September,  1908,  at  8  ^/^  cents,  a  decline  of  4i/^  cents,  say  $22.50 
1  per  bale.  The  crop  is  estimated  at  13,000,000  bales,  which  shows 
\  a  loss  at  present  prices  to  the  cotton  planters  of  fully  $270,000,- 
V,  000,  with  disastrous  conaitions  still  ahead.  v^" 

/"  President  Roosevelt,  let  me  urge  you  to  realize  your  responsi- 
/bility  to  the  people.  The  same  conditions  prevailed  during  the 
/  administration  of  President  Martin  Van  6uren  (Sage  of  Kinder- 
J  hook)  in  1837,  who  wa&  wanting  in  financial  ability,  and  the 
I  people  suffered  extremely  irom  that  very  disastrous  financial 
>>»>^panic  that  only  subsided  in  1847. 

The  treasury  department  has  filled  the  land  with  silver  cer* 

tificates  of  the  denomination  of  o-^cj,  two  and  five  dollars,  amount- 

/  in  to  about  one  hundred  million  dollars,  that  are  not  legal  tender 

(     and  cannot  be  held  by  the  banks  as   legal   reserves,   while  the 

'y    silver  dollars  remain  in  the  treasury   uncalled   for.      All   money 

Vjvhile  in  circulation  should  be  a  legal  tender. 

C-^  Governor  Taft,  the  appointee  of  President  Roosevelt,  reduced 
the  value  of  the  Philippine  silver  dollar  from  its  legal  vaiue  to 
fifty  cents  each — a  sei^ious  and  costly  blunder.  It  is  the  law 
that  gives  value  to  money,  not  the  metal.  This  grave  mistake 
should  be  remedied  without  delay  and  those  silver  dollars  re- 
stored to  their  legal  value. 

/^  GOLD   AND   SILVER   COIN. 

/  There  is  on  deposit  in  the  United  States  Treasury  about 
$1,280,000,000  in  gold  and  silver  coin,  which  is  a  legal  tender, 
and  held  for  redemption  of  a  like  amount  of  certificates,  that  are 
not  a  legal  tender,  and  which  the  National  Banks  have  not  the 
authority  to  hold  for  reserves.  Among  the  silver  certificates  in 
circulation  there  is  about  $100,000,000  in  small  denominations 
of  $1.00,  $2.00  and  $5,000  scattered  throughout  the  country  and 
not  generally  deposited.  A  bad  condition  and  one  of  the  causes 
which,  in  October,  1907,  forced  the  National  Banks  to  issue  about 
$160,000,000  in  Clearing  House  Certificates,  an  illegal  currency, 
or  to  suspend  payment  to  their  depositors.  A  very  bad  condition, 
and  which  should  be  changed  to  a  good  system. 

CLEARING  HOUSE  CERTIFICATES. 

In  October,  1907,  the  National  Banks  in  all  the  large  cities 
throughout  the  country,  except  San  Diego,  Cal.,  being  very  short 
of  ample  money  to  pay  their  depositors,  were  forced  to  make  use 
of  Clearing  House  Certificates,  an  illegal  currency,  otherwise  sus- 
pend payment  to  depositors.  About  $160,000,000  in  such  certifi- 
cates were  issued  and  paid  out  to  depositors. 

/  LOANS  TO  NATIONAL  BANKS. 

The  government  in  order  to  help  the  National  Banks  out  of 
their  bad  condition,  made  loans  to  them  in  December,  1907,  to 
the  extent  of  about  $260,000,000  without  charging  the  banks 
any  interest.     The  banks  receiving  interest  at  an  average  rate  of 


91 

3  per  cent  per  annum  upon  the  bonds  pledged  to  the  government 
for  the  repayment  of  the  money. 

FURTHER  GOVERNMENT  AID. 

Our  government  to  further  aid  the  National  Banks  disposed 
of  about  $35,000,000  of  Panama  Canal  construction  certificates, 
bearing  3  per  cent  interest.  The  banks  were  thus  enabled  to  ac- 
quire the  certificates  and  issue  a  like  amount  in  National  Bank 
Notes.  In  my  judgment  a  wiser  action  would  have  been  to  issue 
the  same  amount  in  legal  tender  U.  S.  notes,  and  have  paid  that 
sum  to  the  banks  for  government  bonds  and  saved  interest.  In  fact, 
the  entire  expense  of  building  the  Panama  Canal,  and  a  great 
many  other  public  improvements,  could  be  paid  for  our  of  an 
issue  in  U.  S.  legal  tender  notes  to  the  extent  of  $1,000,000,000, 
and  give  relief  to  the  people  from  the  present  disastrous  panic. 

DISASTROUS    FINANCIAL    PANIC    OF    1907. 

Owing  to  the  inadequacy  of  the  volume  of  the  circula- 
tion of  our  country,  a  disastrous  financial  panic  broke  out  in 
October,  1907,  causing  great  derangement  to  all  the  immensely 
vast  business  interests  of  the  country,  immense  losses  to  the 
people,  frightful  shrinkage  in  value  of  crops  (cotton  alone, 
$270,000,000),  and  great  numbers  of  workers  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment, many  enforced  to  poverty,  much  misery,  and  some 
few  to  commit  crimes. 

EMERGENCY"  CITIRENCY. 

The  panic  was  discussed  in  the  last  session  of  Congress. 
An  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  issue  of  $500,000,000  in 
emergency  currency,  and  a  commission  authorized  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  to  make  report  upon  a  correct  financial 
system. 

FINANCIAL    COM»nSSION. 

The  president  appointed  a  commission,  composed  of  Sena- 
tor Aldrich  et  al.  The  newspapers  report  that  they  are  now  in 
Europe  consulting  with  the  Rothschilds,  the  great  "Money 
Kings,"  in  regard  to  the  matter,  and  their  report  will  be  made 
to  the 'next  Congress. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT   OF   INCOMPETENCY. 

Congress  in  appointing  a  commission  to  go  abroad,  investi- 
gate and  report  upon  a  correct  financial  system,  considered  itself 
incompetent  to  deal  with  the  subject.  On  finding  the  country  in 
such  a  desperate  condition,  Congress  should  have  remained  in 
session  until  the  bad  conditions  were  remedied. 

MONEY  OF  NATIONS. 

T^rwick  Martin,  a  banker  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  prev- 
ious to  Ifte  '^IVll  "Wii'i-,  is  the  author  of  a  book  styled  "Money  of 
Nations,"  published  in  1880  in  Washington  City,  D.  C.  I  was 
in  early  days  well  acquainted  with  the  late  Mr.  Martin,  who  was  a 
very  just  and  honorable  man.  His  work  upon  the  money  ques- 
tion and  systems  of  finance  is  the  ablest  that  I  have  read.  I 
would  advise  every  member  of  Congress  to  read  the  book,  as  well 
as  all  others  interested  in  that  most  vastly  important  subject 
for  the  welfare  of  the  people. 


92 

SENATOR  DEPEW. 

Senator  Depew,  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  United  States 

/Senate  on  the  6th  of  March,   1908,  stated:      "The  railroads  last 

/    year  needed  $1,600,000,000  to  place  the  roads  in  good  condition 

/      and  make  extensions,  but  no  money  could  be  secured  on  bonds 

\      for   long  terms.      All   the   money   they   could   secure   was   about 

$900,000,000,  and  that  on  short  time  notes  at  6.7  and*7i/^    per 

cent  interest." 

He  further  stated:  "We  have  had  several  disastrous  pan- 
ics, the  most  noted  being  those  of  1837,  1857,  1873,  1893  and 
1907. 

"All  but  the  last  became  subjects  of  rancorus  party  discus- 
sion, and  there  was  no  agreement  at  the  times  of  their  occur- 
rence as  to  tte  causes  of  their  happening.  But  now  contempor- 
ary opinion  with  great  unanimity  puts  the  blame  upon  our  sys- 
tem of  banking  and  currency  and  demands  action  and  remedial 
legislation." 

The  panics  of  1837  and  1857  mentioned  by  Senator  Depew 
occurred  during  the  State  Bank  note  system,  when  the  deposits 
and  the  bank  note  circulation  were  based  upon  specie.  With 
the  export  of  the  specie  which  took  place,  all  the  banks,  with  but 
very  few  exceptions,  suspended  payment,  and  mostly  were  very 
disastrous  failures,  the  bank  notes  in  most  cases  becoming 
worthless.  In  each  case  it  brought  heavy  decline  in  all  busi- 
ness and  intense  idleness  among  the  people.  The  panic  of  1837 
wound  up  about  nine  years  after,  causing  the  unjust  war  against 
Mexico.  That  of  1857  lasted  several  years.  It  was  the  very  great 
scarcity  of  money  that  caused  the  business  to  decline  very  heav- 
ily, throwing  great  masses  of  people  into  idleness,  and  creating 
intense  poverty  and  misery,  which  brought  on  the  civil  war. 
y  "The   Specie   Basis   Banking  Ssystem"   was   always   a   fraud 

/  upon  the  people,  too  vile,   disastrous   and  worthless  ever  to   be 
\^  considered. 

The  panics  of  1873,  1893  and  1907,  mentioned  by  Senator 
Depew,  occurred  under  the  present  National  Banking  system. 
The  bank  notes  are  secured  by  pledges  with  the  government  of 
govrnment  bonds,  bearing  an  average  interest  of  3  per  cent, 
which  is  paid  to  the  National  Banks  as  a  bonus,  or  graft,  as  the 
government  could  create  and  place  in  circulation,  as  needed,  an 
ample  volume  of  United  States  legal  tender  notes,  without  cost 
to  the  government,  in  lieu  of  paying  the  National  Banks  about 
$20,000,000  per  annum  for  issuing  the  National  Bank  notes. 
Also,  our  government  loans  the  National  Banks  vast  sums  of 
money  without  charging  the  banks  any  interest.  In  December, 
1907,  our  government  loaned  to  the  National  Banks  about  $2  60,- 
000,000,  without  charging  the  banks  any  interest.  In  fact,  the 
National  Banks  received  interest  upon  the  government  bonds 
pledged  by  the  National  Banks  as  security  for  the  repayment  of 
the  loans  to  the  government,  a  rank  graft.  Who  ever  heard  of 
parties  receiving  interest  upon  borrowed   money? 

1906  CO>IPARED  WITH   1908. 

rAt  the  present  time  (September  1,  1908)  conditions  com- 
pared with  those  which  existed  on  the  1st  of  January,  1906,  show 
that  a  frightful  change  for  the  worse  has  come  over  the  country. 
It  is  stated  that  out  of  1,500,000  persons  employed  by  the  rail- 
roads in  1906,  about  250,000  have  been  discharged,  being  one- 


93 

sixth.  No  cars  were  idle  then,  now  about  300,000  cars  are  laid  up. 
The  gross  receipts  of  the  railroads  for  the  first  six  months  of 
1908  show  a  loss  of  $280,000,000.  The  managers  of  the  rail- 
roads are  threatening  the  reduction  of  th'^^  wages  of  their  em- 
ployees, or  a  raise  in  freight  charges  to  make  up  their  losses. 
Further,  throughout  the  country,  about  3,000,000  persons  who 
had  ample  work  in  19  06  are  now  idle.  Thus,  through  the  loss 
of  wages  of  the  vast  number  of  idle  people,  their  consumptive 
powers  are  being  greatly  reduced. 

The  decline  in  the  value  of  railroad  property  during  the^ 
past  two  years  is  estimated   at  least   $3,000,000,000. 

Real  estate  market  is  dull  and  prices  declining. 

Building  in  every  section  is  falling  off. 

Heavy   decline   in   price  of  lumber. 


.  J  COTTON  AND  HOPS.    ^ 

/         In    1906    cotton    was   selling   at    13    cents    per    pound,    now, 

/  September  1st,  1908,  it  is  quoted  at  8%    cents  per  pound,  a  re- 

/    duction  of  4  y^.  cents  per  pound.     The  cotton  crop  is  estimated  at 

/     13,000,000  bales,  of  500  pounds  each,  say  a  decline  in  value  of 

I       $22,50  per  bale,  which  would  show  a  loss  to  the  cotton  planters 

I       on  their   crop   of  the   enormous   sum   of  $270,000,000.      Such   a 

I       condition  is  frightful  to  consider.     In  1896  during  the  extremely 

/       disastrous  financial  panic  brought  on  in  1893  by  President  Grover 

I       Cleveland,  through  his  vici(^isness,  stupidity  and  ignorance,  the 

/        price  of  cotton  was  forced  down  to  4  cents,  being  so  great  that 

/        the  raisers  proposed  to  burn  part  of  their  crop  in  order  to  lessen 

j         the  crop  and  thus  raise  the  price.     About  the  same  time  the  price 

I         of  hops  was  so  low  in  New  York,  that  it  did  not  pay  to  raise  hops, 

1         and  the  governor  of  the  state  urged  the  hop  farmers  to  cease 

I        raising  hops.     The  same  year  very  low  prices  existed  in  California. 

V^  The  producers  of  hops  this  year,  1908,  are  now  complaining 

about  the  very  low  price  of  hops,  that  it  does  not  pay  to  raise 

them. 

X  TO   PRODUCERS.  ^ 

All  the  people  of  the  United  States  should  investigate  the 
cause  of  such  very  frightful  conditions  and  remedy  the  wrong. 

PANICS   AND  CAUSE. 

Senator  Depew  in  his  si)eech  aforementioned,  delivered  in 
the  United  States  Senate  on  the  6th  of  March,  1908,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  disastrous  financial  panics  of  1837,  1857,  1873,  1893 
and  1907,  said:  "But  now  contemporary  opinoin  with  great 
unanimity  puts  the  blame  upon  our  system  of  banking  and  cur- 
rency, and  demands  action  and  remedial  legislation." 

FINANCIAL  SYSTEM. 

I  concur  fully  with  Senator  Depew,  that  the  entire  financial 
system  of  our  government,  which  has  caused  such  noted  disas- 
trous financial  panics  as  those  of  1837,  1857,  1873,  1893  and 
1907,  is  very  bad.  Also,  the  administration  has  been  and  is 
still  very  bad,  and  those  members  of  Congress  who  insist  on  en- 
acting such  very  bad  laws  should  be  urged  to  resign,  and  men 
of  correct  financial  knowledge  replace  them. 

FINANCIAL  COMMISSION  OF  1891. 

About  1891  a  commission  composed  of  Jesse  Seligman,  a 
dealer  in  silver  bullion;    H.   W.  Cannon,  president  of  the  Chase 


( 


94 

National  Bank;  C.  C.  Cromwell,  president  of  the  City  Bank  of 
Buffalo,  et  al.,  were  appointed  to  investigate  the  proposition  of 
silver  coinage.  They  went  to  Europe  and  after  a  conference 
with  the  Rothschilds,  the  great  "Money  Kings,"  and  bullion 
dealers,  they  made  report  that  the  further  coinage  of  silver 
was  not  advisable.  There  is  where  Presidents  Harrison  and 
Cleveland  got  their  cues  about  silver,  securing  the  suspension 
of  silver  coinage  and  thus  preventing  any  further  increase  in 
tTie  circulation,  which  at  the  time  was  greatly  needed  by  the 
people  to  conduct  their  business  successfully.  Money  is  the 
power  to  build  up  a  country.  If  adequate,  prosperity  reigns.  If 
inadequate,  there  is  the  devil  at  play! 

FINANCIAL  COMMISSION  OF  1908. 

During  the  past  session  of  Congress,  President  Roosevelt 
appointed  a  commission  to  investigate  and  report  ppon  a  cor- 
rect financial  system,  composed  of  Senator  Aldrich  et  al.  A  re- 
port comes  that  the  commission  is  in  Europe  conferring  with 
the  Rothschilds  upon  the  subject.  Possibly  the  Rothschilds 
might  recommend  that  our  silver  dollar  coins  be  reduced  to  the 
value  of  50  cents  each,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of  Mexico  and 
the  Philippines. 

.  RAILROAD  NEEDS. 

Associated  Press,  July  10,  1908.  Mr.  E.  P.  Ripley,  presi- 
dent of  the  Santa  Pe  Railway,  stated:  "But  the  wages  of  rail- 
road employees  could  not  be  reduced  without  bringing  on  a 
strike,  which  would  paralyze  the  country  for  months.  The  only 
thing  left  seems  to  be  to  increase  rates." 

"The  fact  is  that,  with  few  exceptions,  the  railroads  in  this 
coimtry  are  merely  imitations  of  railroads.  They  are  skimpingly 
built  and  have  all  kinds  of  money  to  spend  for  the  protection  of 
life  and  property  and  to  handle  the  business  entrusted  to  them 
as  the  public  demands  that  it  shall  be  handled. 

"For  this  new  capital  must  be  raised." 

SLAUGHTER    ON    THE    RAILROADS. 

The  intersetate  commerce  commission  has  just  made  public 
the  figures  of  the  railroad  shambles,  for  the  fiscal  year  of  1907. 
According  to  these  oflEicial  figures  the  railroads  killed  last  year 
11,839  persons,  and  crippled  and  injured  111,016,  making  a 
total  of  122,855  victims  of  the  railroads.  What  an  appalling 
presentation!  The  railroads  .of  the  country  not  only  maintain 
but  increase  their  reputation  as  the  greatest  mankillers  in  the 
universe.  War,  with  its  horrors  and  bloodshed,  its  killed  and 
wounded,  is  a  bagatelle  beside  the  slaughter  of  the  railroads. 

SENATOR  DEPEW. 

Senator  Depew,  in  his  address,  further  stated:  "The  rail- 
•MDads  need  $1,600,000,000  to  put  them  in  good  condition  and 
make  extensions,  but  money  could  not  be  secured  on  long  term 
bonds.  Only  $900,000,000  could  be  obtained  and  that  on  short 
terms  at  6.7  and  7i/^  per  cent  interest." 

A  most  frightful  condition,  which  Congress  should  remedy 
without  delay  by  creating  and  placing  in  circulation  ample  money 
to  run  the  industries  of  our  country  successfully.  The  slaughter- 
ing of  the  people  on  the  railroads  should  not  be  permitted  longer 
to  continue.     The  National  Banks  have  not  the  wealth  to  secure 


95 

the  bonds  required  to  increase  the  immensely  vast  circulations 
needed.  Therefore,  our  government  should  change  its  financial 
system  and  adopt  a  just,  safe  and  generous  one  to  maintain  the 
country  in  continuous  prosperity  and  not  keep  the  people  in  con- 
tinuous tumult. 

/^         DECREASE  IN  VALUE  OF  RAILROAD  PROPERTY. 

/  Just  imagine  the  shrinkage  in  the  value  of  the  railroad  prop- 

/     erty  within  the  past  two  years,  estimated  at  $3,000,000,000,  all 
/   •  owing  to  a  totally  inadequate  volume  of  money  being  maintained 
/  i        in    circulation,    through    the    v/ant    of    a    correct    knowledge    by 
V     President  Roosevelt  of  a  generous  system  of  finance  for  our  gov- 
ernment. 

/  EMERGENCY    CURRENCY. 

/        The  enactment  by  Congress,  authorizing  $500,000,000  emer- 

/  gency  currency  to  force  the  ^shrinkage  in  the  wealth  of  the  coun- 

/     try,  in  the  interest  of  the  very  wealthy  National  Banks  in  New 

/       York  City,  is  a  sham  and  a  base  fraud.     All  the  financial  legisla- 

/        tion  is  largely  in  their  interest.     Only  permanent  and  continuous 

j  circultation  should  be  emitted  to  maintain  the  continuous  increase 

I  of  the  industries  and  the  growth  of  wealth.     Our  immensely  ex- 

\         pansive   country,   with   its   enormously   vast   industries   and   very 

V^    active  population,  should  have  at  least  a  circulation  of  $50  per 

capita  of  continuous  circulation. 

FRANCE. 

Smaller  than  Texas,  France  has  about  39,000,000  popula- 
tion and  has  the  largest  per  capita  supply  of  money  of  any  coun- 
try in  the  world,  to-wit: 

Gold  about $     850,000,000 

Silver 488,000,000 

Bank  notes 673,000,000 

Total $2,011,000,000 

About  $50  per  capita.  Which  large  volume  of  money  has 
made  that  country  exceedingly  prosperous  and  powerful.  The 
gold,  silver  and  paper  money  are  on  a  parity,  maintained  thus 
by  their  equal  debt-paying  power.  Contracts  for  the  payments 
of  debts  are  not  allowed  to  be  made  in  specific  money  (gold) 
only  in  the  legal  money  of  the  country.  Debtors  have  the  right 
to  pay  their  debts  in  such  legal  money  as  they  may  have. 

"No  country  is  more  misunderstood  than  France  and  her 
currency.  The  notes  of  the  Bank  of  France  are  literally  fiat 
money.  They  say  '50  francs'  and  '100  francs',  and  do  not  prom- 
ise to  redeem  the  bank  note  in  any  kind  of  coin.  The  5  franc 
piece  in  silver  is  the  general  legal  tender  of  France.  They  main- 
tain the  parity  of  gold,  silver  and  paper  by  main  strength."  Still 
the  bank  pays  its  notes  at  its  option  in  either  silver  or  gold  coin. 
This  power  is  used  to  prevent  the  export  of  gold  coin. 

THE  REBELLION. 

In  1790  the  money  supply  of  France  was  low,  the  masses 
of  the  people  were  without  work  and  suffering  for  the  want  of 
bread.  They  sent  a  committee  to  King  Louis  XVI.  and  asked  for 
work  or  bread.  He  told  his  minister  to  throw  them  a  stone. 
They  revolted  and  guillotined  the  King.      A  National  Assembly 


96 

was  elected  which  confiscated  the  estates  of  the  nobles  and  clergy, 
and  to  carry  on  the  government  issued  an  immense  amount  of 
"assignats,"  which  were  made  redeemable  only  in  confiscated 
lands.  It  acted  as  currency,  paying  debts,  and  enabled  the  gov- 
ernment to  wage  war  with  Europe.  By  1797  about  $9,000,000,- 
000  was  estimated  to  be  in  circulation,  but  the  English  people 
had  counterfeited  the  "assignats"  to  such  an  extent  that  the  good 
could  not  be  told  from  the  bad,  so  they  went  out  of  existence 
just  as  our  continental  money  did,  which  the  British  counter- 
feited in  order  to  cripple  our  country,  but  they  failed.  The  "as- 
signats" had  the  effect  of  increasing  the  land  owners  of  France 
from  30,000  in  1790  to  over  5,000,000  by  1800. 

The  French  people  love  their  homes  and  their  country,  and 
but  few  emigrate. 

Politicians  on  the  stump  speak  sneeringly  and  contemptu- 
ously of  "assignats"  and  continental  notes  as  being  worthless 
paper  money,  and  ridicule  our  greenbacks  as  similar  and  undesir- 
able, that  should  be  put  out  of  existence. 

Neither  assignats  nor  continental  notes  were  invested  with 
legal  tender  power  to  pay  debts,  consequently  were  not  money. 
The  assignats  fortunately  were  redeemable  in  lands,  which  gave 
France  over  five  million  loyal  land  owners.  The  continental 
notes  were  payable  in  Spanish  milled  dollars,  only  a  limited 
number  of  which  were  in  circulation.  Counterfeits  drove  both 
out  of  existence,  but  both  worked  wonders  for  their  respective 
countries. 

LAND  OWNERS. 

France  is  owned  by  the  many.  There  are  now  5,500,000 
land  owners  among  the  39,000,000  people  which  make  up  the 
French  republic,  or  almost  a  land  holder  to  every  family.  The 
average  holding  is  less  than  six  acres,  and  thousands  own  little 
tracts  upon  which  they  live,  working  a  part  of  the  year  for  some 
one  else. 

FARMERS. 

^        There  are  more  than  eight  million  farmers  in  France  who 

/  belong  to  agricultural  syndicates,  and  there  are  altogether  over 

/   two   thousand    such    syndicates.      These    syndicates    are    for   the 

/     general  furthering  of  the  farming  and   commercial  interests  of 

I     the   members,   and  they   are   further   organized   into   ten   unions 

I      which  work  together  for  the  interest  of  their  class.     They  have 

I     a  head  ofiice  at  Paris,  and  this  deals  with  the  railroads  as  to 

V    freight  rates  and  also   pushes   agricultural   interests  before   the 

\French  Parliament. 

/-  LOVE  HOME. 

/  The  French  love  their  native  land,  and  it  is  this  common 
/  ownership  that  keeps  them  at  home.  They  are  not  an  emigrating 
nation,  like  the  Germans  and  Italians  or  the  English.  More 
strangers  go  into  France  every  year  than  Frenchmen  leave,  and 
notwithstanding  this  the  people  are  about  the  richest  on  the  face 
of  the  globe. 

RAILROADS. 

The  government  owns  most  of  the  railroads.  They  are  thor- 
oughly built  and  kept  in  excellent  order,  and  the  charges  for 
fare  and  freight  are  moderate. 


97 

MANUFACTORIES. 

France  has  immense  manufactories.  Lyons  produces  an- 
nually silk  of  the  value  of  over  $50,000,000  and  sustains  a  pop- 
ulation of  500,000.  St.  Etienne  produced  silk  ribbons  of  the 
value  of  $20,000,000  per  year  and  sustains  a  population  of  165,- 
000.  They  sell  the  people  of  the  United  States  about  $2,500,000 
of  ribbons  every  year. 

TAXES. 

The  taxes  are  raised  with  good  judgment  and  paid  by  the 
wealthy,  largely  through  incomes. 

FRENCH   INDEMNITY    TO    GERMANY. 

In  July,  1871,  the  indemnity  from  France  to  Germany  was 
fixed  at  $1,060,209,015.00;  after  crediting  France  with  the 
value  of  certain  railroads  in  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  the  amount 
of  indemnity  due  Germany  became  $999,172,069,  or  4,990,860,349 
francs,  which  was  paid  in  November,  1871  by  the  Bank  of  France, 
a  portion  of  which  was  in  its  notes  at  par.  The  indemnity  was 
settled  as  follows: 

IN   PAPER. 

Francs. 

In  bank  notes  of  the  Bank  of  France 125,000,000 

In  German  bank  notes 105,039,045 

Total  paper 230,039,045 

IN  SILVER. 

Francs. 

In  French   five-franc   pieces 239,291,875 

In  bills  of  exchange  drawn  in  silver  thalers 2,485,513,729 

In  bills  drawn  on  Hamburg  ki   marc  banco 265,216,990 

In  bills  drawn  on  Frankfort  in  silver  florins 235,128,152 

In  bills  drawn  on  Amsterdam  in  silver  florins 250,540,821 

In  bills  drawn  on  Antwerp  and  Brussels 925,704,546 

Total   silver 3,771,395,913 

IN  GOLD. 

Francs. 

In  French   gold   coins 283,003,250 

In  bills  drawn  on  Berlin 79,072,309 

In  pounds  sterling  on  London 637,349,932 

Total  gold 989,425,391 

75,6  per  cent  in  silver,  19.8  per  cent  in  gold,  and  4.6  per 
cent  in  paper.  They  were  able  to  pay  the  enormous  Franco- 
Prussian  war  debt  without  feeling  it,  and  they  have  now  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars  stored  away  in  their  homes.  France 
never  send  abroad  to  borrow  money,  but  has  always  largely  to 
loan.  France  coined  of  silver  during  1903,  4  and  5,  $70,887,561, 
and  made  a  profit  between  commercial  price  paid  and  gained  by 
coinage  into  legal  tender  silver  coins,  about  $31,000,000. 

GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

In    1907   thfe   per   capita   circulation   of   gold    and    silver 
France  was  as  follows: 

Gold,   $23.75  Silver,  $10.75 


^ 


98 

MONEY  TO  LOAN. 

France  always  has  plenty  of  money  to  loan.  When  they 
want  money  the  Bank  of  France  creates  bank  notes  for  the 
amount  needed. 

COMMISSIONS. 

The  government  does  not  send  commissioners  abroad  to 
learn  about  finance,  as  our  government  has  done  and  is  still  do- 
ing. President  Harrison  sent  Jesse  Seligman  et  al  to  ask  the 
Rothschilds  if  it  was  advisable  to  stop  the  coinage  of  silver.  Of 
course,  the  Rothschilds  advised  suspension.  President  Roosevelt 
has  named  Aldrich  et  al  to  report  upon  a  good  financial  system 
and  they  are  now  visiting  the  Rothschilds  at  Berlin.  Daniels  in 
wisdom! 

The  Bank  of  France  will  pay  out  gold  coin  to  their  people 
needing  it  at  par,  but  should  foreigners  ask  for  gold  the  Bank  of 
France  demands  a  premium.  In  January,  1908,  the  Bank  of 
England  borrowed  about  $15,000,000  from  the  Bank  of  France, 
and  paid  a  premium  for  the  gold,  and  has  done  the  same  thing 
on  previous  occasions.  In  1907  our  people  borrowed  about  $100,- 
000,000  in  gold  from  France,  paid  a  premium,  good  rate  of  in- 
terest, and  gave  best  securities.  Our  people  are  paying  it  back 
now.     Already  about  $50,000,000  has  been  returned  in  gold. 

WORLD'S  PROGRESS. 

The  1,650,000,000  people  in  the  world  have  during  the 
past  half  century  very  greatly  improved  in  their  condition,  made 
immense  growth  in  commerce,  and  vast  increase  in  wealth,  which 
all  the  while  demands  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  their  circu- 
lating medium.  All  indications  show  that  their  progress  in  the 
future  will  be  far  more  rapid  and  ^astly  greater  than  it  has  been 
in  the  past,  as  the  communications,  business  arrangements  and 
connections  throughout  the  world  have  been  and  are  being  made 
with  greater  facility,  and  more  expeditiously. 

CHINA. 

The  Chinese  since  their  limited  connection  with  the  outside 
world  have  made  wonderful  progress,  especially  in  manufactur- 
ing. They  have  the  very  best  plants  for  the  manufacture  of  cot- 
ton, with  the  most  approved  machinery  to  be  found  in  any  part 
of  the  world,  and  all  the  while  are  greatly  increasing  the  number 
of  their  operatives,  likewise  their  consumptive  powers,  thus  cre- 
ating a  far  greater  and  ever-increasing  demand  for  the  circulat- 
ing medium  necessary  for  the  continuous  demand  of  their  own 
people.     Also  to  make  the  exchanges  with  other  nations. 

MONEY  NEEDED  BY  CHINA. 

The  Chinese  will  require  a  silver  circulation  of  about  $10 
per  capita,  say  $4,000,000,000.  To  obtain  such  a  needed  supply 
would  require  the  entire  product  of  all  the  mines  of  the  world  for 
20  years,  at  the  present  rate  of  production.  The  pro  rata  of 
circulation  for  China  is  $1.10,  far  too  low,  and  from  which  they 
are  now  suffering  very  greatly. 

y-  BRITISH  INDIA.  *^X 

/^       With  a  population  of  350,000,000  British  India  has  only  a       1 
/  per  capita  circulation   of  about   $3.10.      The  silver  coinage  per       I 

(™ .. ....  ........  „.„  ..„  .„  ..„  .  „y 


99 

per  capita  per  annum.  During  1906  British  India  coined  in  sil- 
ver $64,691,356  and  made  a  profit  of  about  $22,000,000  between 
the  commercial  price  paid  for  the  silver  bullion  and  the  value 
gained  by  the  coinage  into  legal  tender  silver  rupees  at  which  it 
was  issued.  The  people  of  British  India  use  mainly  the  silver 
coin,  and  it  will  take  many  years  to  enable  them  to  secure  an 
ample  volume  of  circulation.  The  circulation  of  India  should  be 
at  least  $10  per  capita,  say  $3,500,000,000.  India  has  made, 
great  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  people  of  late  years. 

CANADA. 

Canada  has  progressed  wonderfully  within  the  past  ten 
years.  Particularly  has  her  population  increased  in  the  North- 
west. Mines  are  constantly  being  opened,  new  farms  created,  new 
factories  started.  Since  1898  she  has  constructed  many  thousand 
miles  of  railroad.  Her  encouragement  to  the  emigrant  has  won 
a  vast  number  even  from  our  own  country,  from  such  states  as 
Maine,  Vermont,  Michigan,  Minnesota  arfd  Wisconsin. 

We  who  think  the  United  States  is  the  biggest  nation  on  the 
Western  Hemisphere  might  look  up  the  figures  telling  about  our 
size.  They  show  that  Canada  is  larger  than  all  our  states  and 
territories,  including  Alaska.  From  the  Atlantic  to  the  western 
coast  the  distance  in  this  country  is  about  8,000  miles.  Canada 
stretches  to  3,400.  It  is  interesting  to  know,  too,  that  her  fishing 
industry  in  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  yielded  more  than  $500,- 
000,000.  Its  lumber  industry  is  simply  immense  and  will  con- 
tinue increasing  more  rapidly  than  ever  with  the  rapid  growing 
of  the  transportation  facilities. 

Canada  has  taken  within  the  last  five  years  from  the  United 
States,  mainly  in  the  Northwest  section,  at  least  $250,000,000, 
all  kinds  of  U.  S.  money  being  current.  Considerable  gold  has 
been  shipped.  For  awhile  it  went  in  at  the  rate  of  about 
$5,000,000  per  week,  which  drain  is  being  felt  in  the  United 
States. 

No^-thwestern  Canada  will  continue  to  make  a  heavy  and 
increasing  demand  for  money  upon  the  United  States  right  along, 
as  all  that  section  is  building  up  very  rapidly. 

FUTURE  OF  SILVER. 

According  to  a  recent  writer  on  the  subject,  China  and 
India,  in  another  ten  years,  at  their  present  rate  of  progress,  will 
require  a  per  capita  of  $10,  and  as  they  will  never  give 
up  silver,  it  is  a  reasonable  estimate  to  say  that  China 
will  require  $4,000,000,000  in  silver,  while  India  will  need 
$3,500,000,000.  Now,  if  the  world's  silver  output  reaches  $200,- 
000,000  a  year  it  would  take  thirty-seven  and  one-half  years  to 
produce  enough  to  answer  the  needs  of  India  and  China,  leaving 
out  the  rest  of  the  world. 

JAPAN. 

Since  the  ports  of  Japan  were  opened  by  Commodore  Perry 
in  1852  its  commerce  has  grown  immensely,  and  its  steamers  are 
plying  on  every  sea.  The  financial  system  of  Japan  is  bad  and 
works  a  great  drawback  to  the  increase  of  its  business.  The 
great  mistake  made  by  the  Japanese  government  was  in  reduc- 
ing the  value  of  their  silver  dollar  to  50  cents  each,  also  their 
gold  coin  in  the  same  ratio,  causing  considerable  loss  in  money 
and  a  very  great  injury  to  their  business  interests. 


100 

It  is  the  enactment  of  the  law  of  legal  tender  that  fixes  the 
value  of  money  and  not  the  value  of  the  metal  or  the  paper. 
Therefore,  the  Japanese  government  acted  most  unwisely  and 
injudiciously,  besides  at  considerable  loss. 

STRIVING   FOR  BUSINESS. 

The  people  of  all  nations  are  seeking  arduously  to  increase 
their  supply  of  money  to  enable  them  to  build  up  the  commerce. 
The  business  of  a  country  will  grow  or  fall  off,  just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  increase  or  decrease  of  its  volume  of  money. 

HONEST  FINANCIAL  SYSTEM. 

Congress  can  prevent  further  hard  times  and  disastrous 
financial  panics  by  adopting  a  wise,  just,  generous  and  honest 
financial  system  by  our  gove^rnment  assuming  its  prerogative  and 
power,  creating,  issuing,  placing  in  circulation  and  maintaining 
an  ample  volume  of  legal  tender  U.  S.  notes — genuine  money, 
fully  adequate  to  sustain  our  people  in  continuous  prosperity  and 
thereafter  gradually  dispense  with  further  circulation  of  National 
Bank  notes,  and  thus  save  to  our  government  the  vast  amount 
paid  private  corporations  for  issuing  a  bank  note  currency,  that 
can  be  withdrawn  from  circulation  at  their  will  for  speculative 
purposes  and  injuring  business  and  moreover  cannot  be  increased 
in  sufficient  volume  absolutely  needed  by  the  people  for  continu- 
ance of  prosperous  conditions,  as  the  banks  have  not  the  im- 
mensely vast  wealth  to  accomplish  the  demands.  Whereas  our 
government  has  the  power  and  wealth  to  create  and  issue  ample 
legal  tender  money  to  keep  all  the  people  fully  employed  and 
maintain  a  continuance  in  the  growth  of  wealth  throughout  our 
country. 

NATIONAL    BANK    NOTES. 

On  July  1st,  1908,  there  was  in  circulation  about  $700,000,- 
000  in  National  Bank  Notes  upon  which  the  National  Banks  (pri- 
vate corporations)  receive  from  our  government,  average  inter- 
est at  the  rate  of  3  per  cent  per  annum,  upon  the  bonds  pledged 
by  the  banks  to  our  government,  say  about  $20,000,00  annually, 
a  graft,  a  down  right  robbery  of  the  peoples  money  as  there  is 
no  necessity  for  the  issue  of  any  such  currency,  which  is  not  a 
legal  tender  to  pay  debts  between  the  people  and  is  only  redeem- 
able in  U.  S.  notes  in  Washington  City  when  presented  in  sums  of 
not  less  than  fifty  dollars. 

LOANING  GOVERNMENT   MONEY. 

About  $262,000,000  of  government  money  was  loaned  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Cortelyou  to  the  National  Banks 
in  December,  1907,  upon  which  loans  to  said  private  corporations 
they  received  from  the  government  an  average  interest  at  the 
rate  of  3  per  cent  per  annum  upon  the  bonds  pledged  for  the  re- 
turn of  the  funds,  an  outrageous  graft. 

Our  government  should  not  loan  its  money  to  private  corpora- 
tions to  speculate  with;  a  much  wiser  plan  would  be  for  our  gov- 
ernment to  use  its  funds  in  paying  expenses,  making  internal  im- 
provements, slackwatering  rivers,  improving  harbors,  building 
roads  from  ocean  to  ocean,  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  also 
loaning  upon  bonds  at  low  rate  of  interest,  say  2  to  3  per  cent 
per  annum  to  states,  cities  and  counties  to  make  improvements. 


101 


TELEGRAPH   SYSTEM. 

Our  government  should  use  its  money  in  the  purchase  and 
improvement  of  the  telegraphic  and  cable  system  and  thus  im- 
mensely benefit  all  the  people  throughout  the  country  by  greatly 
reducing  rates,  also  treat  employees  with  generous  consideration. 
Telegraph  operators  have  a  hard  struggle. 

BANK  EXA3nNERS. 

They  Are  Given  a  Pretty  General  Raking  Over  the  Coals 
Comptroller  of  Currency  Murray. 

(Associated  Press  Special  Leased  Wire.) 

Washington,  Sept.  21,  1908. — "I  say  to  you  emphatically  that 
your  work  must  be  improved.  Embezzlements  have  failed  of  dis- 
covery, defalcations  and  dishonesty  have  been  concealed  from  you, 
and  in  many  cases  you  have  failed  to  correctly  or  even  approxi- 
mately estimate  the  value  of  the  paper  and  securities  held  by  the 
banks." 

This  was  the  declaration  made  today  by  Comptroller  of  the 
Currency  Lawrence  O.  Murray  in  addressing  the  confrence  of 
National  Bank  examiners  representing  practically  all  of  the  terri- 
tory east  of  Ohio.  The  conference  which  is  being  held  behind 
closed  doors,  is  expected  to  continue  several  days,  and  is 
the  first  under  the  comptroller's  call  of  September  9th,  designed 
to  discuss  the  bank  examiner's  work. 

Why  should  such  conditions  have  been  permitted?  The  Pre- 
sident should  supervise  the  financial  system  of  our  Government 
and  see  that  it  is  just,  safe,  and  honest  and  have  corrected  all 
wrong  doing. 

DEPOSITORS'  MONEY. 

All  banks  and  all  other  institutions  receiving  deposits  should 
be  required  to  give  ample  security  to  the  depositors  of  their  funds. 
The  government  requires  security!  Why  not  the  widow?  In 
fact  everyone  should  be  secured.     Why  not? 

1908-1907. 
AUGUST  BUILDING  RECORD. 

Statement  of  Operations  in  Twenty-five  Cities  Showing  Decline. 


The  following  statement  tells  the  story  in  full: 


CITY- 


August, 
1908, 
cost. 


Baltimore    $       711,932 

Brimingham    143,817 

Bridgeport,    Ct 141,820 

Cincinnati    553,210 

Detroit,    Mich 861,950 

Hartford,    Ct 45,335 

Greater  New  York 10,485,410 

Omaha,  Neb 483,425 

Philadelphia 2,024,330 

Paterson,    N.    J 177,266 

Pittsburg    1,528,683 

Portland,    Or 772,395 

Reading    55,975 

Los  Angeles 954,271 


August, 

1907, 

cost. 

;       824,215 

200,257 

267,902 

810,256 

1,055,000 

445,695 

14,204,319 

568,700 

3,238,715 

302.189 

2,076,428 

881,360 

92,450 

1,342,006 


102 

New  Haven 201,010  232,842  13 

Newark,  N.  J 668,252  1,035,700.  35 

New  Orleans 296,784  311,992  36 

Manhattan 4,448,lt)5  7,776,195  42 

San   Francisco    2,140,420  3,109,056  31 

Scranton,    Pa 282,440  490,535  42 

South  Bend 46,505  126,985  63 

Toledo,  0 164,238  232,780  29 

Wilkesbarre    154,720  638,132  75 

Worcester 223,998  389,758  42 

Total $27,566,341      $40,673,467 

The  above  table  shows  building  operations  in  August,  1907, 
to  amount  to  $40,673,467,  while  August,  1908,  shows  $27,566,- 
341,  a  falling  off  of  $13,107,126,  in  the  twenty-five  cities  above 
enumerated. 

JAMES  T.  HOILE. 

James  T.  Hoile,  secretary  of  the  Manufacturers  Association 
'of  New  York.  In  an-  interview  with  "The  American,"  Mr.  Hoile 
makes  it  clear  that  the  manufacturers,  who  constitute  a  majority 
of  the  shippers,  have  for  many  months  subjected  themeslves  to 
losses  in  order  to  prevent  a  cry  of  hard  times,  and  are  not  willing 
to  have  additional  burdens  thrust  upon  them  in  order  that  the 
railroads  may  pay  larger  dividends. 

Mr.  Hoile  says,  in  his  letter  to  me,  Mr.  Brown  states  very 
frankly  that  if  they  cannot  secure  a  freight  rate  that  will  be  satis- 
factory to  them  they  will  be  compelled  to  cut  the  wages  of  their 
employees.  He  adds  that  a  cut  in  wages  at  this  time  would  almost 
certainly  bring  about  the  greatest  Railroad  strike  this  country 
has  ever  known. 

After  telling  how  the  Debs  strike  of  fourteen  years  ago 
stunned  the  business  interests  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Brown 
says: 

"I  want  to  say  to  you  that  this  strike,  as  bad  as  it  was,  would 
be. like  a  summer  shower  compared  with  the  blackness  of  the 
storm  which  confronts  the  business  interests  of  the  Country  if 
the  Railroads  are  compelled  to  attempt  to  enforce  a  general  re- 
duction of  wages." 

I  do  not  take  much  stock  in  talk  of  that  kind.  .It  is  only  a 
repetition  of  the  threats  always  current  when  discussions  of  this 
kind  come  up, 

W.  O.  BROWX. 

W.  C.  Brown,  senior  vice-president  of  the  New  York  Central, 
says  that  railroads  must  all  begin  to  pay  dividends  again  before 
prosperity  can  be  expected  in  other  lines  of  commerce. 

"If  the  Railroads  could  resume  the  purchase  of  equipment 
and  material  and  the  great  and  vitally  necessary  work  of  improv- 
ing their  facilities,  the  present  depression  would,  in  my  opinion, 
vanish  in  a  day,  and  the  re-employment  of  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  idle  workmen  would,  by  their  purchasing  power, 
start  running  to  their  capacity  thousands  of  idle  manufacturing 
plants.  These  results  would  very  speedily  follow  the  taking  effect 
of  the  suggested  increase  in  freight  rates." 

Mr.  Hoile  and  Mr.  Brown  as  well  as  all  the  other  business 
men  of  our  country  should  educate  themselves  in  regard  to 
the  cause  of  the  several  disasterous  financial  panics  that  has  oc- 


103 

curing  during  my  business  career  and  learn  how  to  remedy  the 
very  bad  conditions  now  prevailing. 

My  views  regarding  the  very  disaterous  panic  of  1873  was 
published  by  John  D.  Forney  in  the  "Philadelphia  Press"  in 
1877.  Hon.  W.  D.  Kelly,  M.  C,  from  Philadelphia  gave  me  credit 
of  being  thoroughly  posted  in  regard  to  the  various  disasterous 
panics  and  said  he  would  be  glad  to  see  me  at  the  head  of  the 
Treasury  Department. 

E.  H.  GARY. 

In  an  interview  with  N.  Y.  "American"  July  10th,  1908, 
Ex- Judge  Gary,  chairman  of  the  U,  S.  Steel  Corporation  stated. 
"The  necessities  of  the  purchasing  community  are  greater  than 
ever  before  and  the  ability  to  pay  is  greater  than  ever  before. 
All  that  is  requisite  to  bring  about  satisfactory  business  con- 
ditions is  the  restoration  of  perfect  confidence,  and  that  appears 
to  be  at  hand." 

Queer  reasoning  of  Judge  Gary,  "The  necessities  of  the 
purchasing  community  are  greater  than  ever  before  and  the 
ability  to  pay  greater."  Is  it  possible  that  the  ability  to  pay  is 
greater  than  ever  before?  Senator  Depew  in  his  address  in  the 
Senate,  stated  that  the  Railroads  wanted  $1,600,000,000  (being 
near  one  half  of  the  circulation  of  the  country)  and  that  they 
were  only  able  the  secure  $900,000,000  at  short  term  and  pay 
6,  7  and  7  Vz  per  cent  interest. 

Judge  Gary  further  stated  all  that  is  needed  is  "perfect 
confidence."  So  it  is  with  filling  the  dinner  pail,  confidence 
cannot  do  it,  money  only  can  do  so  and  that  is  only  to  be  se- 
cured by  work.  Let  our  government  issue  ample  money  to  run 
the  industries  and  the  work  will  come. 

E.  P.  RIPLEY. 

(Associated  Press  July  10th,  19 OS.) 
Mr.  E.  P.  Ripley,  president  of  the  Santa  Fe  Ry,  stated: 
/  "But  the  wages  of  the  railroad  employees  could  not  be  re- 

duced without  bringing  on  a  strike  which  would  paralize  ^the 
country  for  months.  The  only  thing  left  seems  to  be  to  increase 
rates." 

The  fact  is  that,  with  few  exceptions,  the  railroads  in  this 
country  are  merely  imitations  of  railroads.  They  are  skimpingly 
built  and  have  all  kinds  of  money  to  spend  for  the  protection  of 
life  and  property  and  to  handle  the  business  entrusted  to  them 
as  the  public  demands  that  it  shall  be  handled.  For  this  new 
capital  must  be  raised.  The  National  Banks  have  not  the 
wealth,  to  supply  the  vast  volume  of  circulation  needed  to  run 
successfully  the  immensely  vast  industries  of  our  country.  Our 
government  proposes  to  issue  $500,000,000  emergency  currency, 
which  only  can  give  temporary  relief  and  when  withdrawn,  the 
people  will  find  themselves  in  a  more  wretched  condition  than 


^-'ever 


^  DECREASE  OF  VALUES. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  shrinkage  in  railroad  property  is 
placed  at  about  $3,500,000,000,  being  about  one-fourth  of  the 
value  in  1906. 

Real  estate  in  every  section  of  the  country  is  becoming  more 
difficult  to  sell  and  prices  gradually  dropping.  It  is  diflicult  to 
estimate  the  srinkage  of  values. 


104 

HARRIMAN  SAYS  PANIC  LEFT  HARDLY  A  SCRATCH. 

"We  find  ourselves  in  better  shape  than  expected,"  he  de- 
clares. 

Portland,  Ore.,  Sept.  6. — E.  H.  Plarriman,  before  leaving 
last  night  for  San  Francisco,  spoke  at  a  reception  held  in  his 
honor  at  the  Commercial  Club.     He  said: 

"We  find  ourselves  in  far  better  shape  after  the  senseless 
money  panic  of  last  fall  than  might  have  been  expected,  and  the 
past  year  leaves  us  with  hardly  a  scratch.  We  are  in  a  position 
now  to  go  ahead  and  complete  the  work  laid  out  and  will  do  so." 
— N.  Y.  A.,  Sept.   7,  1908.  >v 

y^  The  financial  panic  of  1907  was  caused  by  the  total  inade-N. 
/^  quacy  of  the  circulation  to  maintain  the  vast  wealth.  Financial  ^ 
/  panics  grow  disastrous  gradually,  with  the  gradual  depreciation  \ 
i  in  the  value  of  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and  continue  until  the  I 
V  volume  of  the  circulation  becomes  ample  to  maintain  the  wealth,^^/ 
^-   that   is,   equalized. 

Confidence  cannot  be  restored  until  the  volume  of  the  circu- 
lation be  increased  adequately,  which  would  now  require  at  least 
$1,000,000,000  to  revive  the  conditions  that  existed  January  1st, 
1906.     Take  the  duration  of  the  several  former  panics,  to-wit: 
Panic  of   1837   continued  until   1847 
"     1857  "  "      1864 

"     1873  "  "      1879 

"       "     1893  "  "      1900 

/  The  National  Banks  have  not  the  vast  wealth  or  backing  of 
/Donds  to  increase  the  circulation  adequate  to  meet  the  enorm- 
ous demands  for  money.  The  government  only  has  the  wealth  to 
make  the  necessary  increase  through  a  creation  of  law.  Our 
government  should  with  the  least  delay  possible  increase  the 
volume  of  the  circulation  at  least  $1,000,000,000,  which  can  be 
done  rapidly  in  U.  S.  notes.  It  is  reported  that  there  are  about 
3,500,000  persons  out  of  employment — 250,000  were  discharged 
from  the  railroads.  Further,  that  the  shrinkage  in  the  value  of 
railroad  property  amounts  to  about  $3,500,000,000.  Also,  in 
^real-  estate  throughout  the  country  it  is  incalculable.  Money  in 
ample  volume  only  can  restore  prosperous  conditions. 

CRIME  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

N.  Y.  "American,"  Sept.  10,  states: 

"Millions  of  dollars  in  booty  stolen  in  a  few  months." 

"New  York  is  robber-ridden." 

"Hundreds  of  burglaries  are  being  committed  every  week." 

"No  section  of  the  city  has  been  forgotten.  All  districts 
seem  to  have  been  easy  to  the  thieves." 

"The  aggregate  of  these  robberies  for  the  year  1908  will  as- 
sume enormous  proportions,  an  estimate  from  an  expert  source 
placing  the  losses  to  New  Yorkers  at  several  million  dollars." 

"Result  of  the  hard  times  during  this  panic  which  broke  out 
in  1907." 

If  the  volume  of  money  be  not  increased  adequately,  such 
conditions  will  result  in  riots  and  wars,  as  they  did  in  1837, 
1857   and   1873. 

COINAGE  OF  GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

The  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  for  1905,  for  the  1,650,000,- 
000  of  the  world  was  as  follows: 


105 

Gold  coin $245,954,248 

Silver  coin 163,805,115 

Total $409,759,353 

Showing  about  26  cents  per  capita  increase  in  the  circula- 
tion for  the  population  of  the  world  in  gold  and  silver  coin.  There 
will  never  he  any  danger  of  securing  too  much  or  even  ample 
metallic  money. 

^  DISAPPEARANCE  OF  COIN. 

/  The  coinage  of  gold,  silver  and  copper  has  been  going  on 

/  throughout  the  world  for  ages.  Still,  but  few  old  coins  are  to  be 
/  found.  They  seem  to  disappear  in  some  manner — shipwrecks,  fires, 
I  floods,  hiding  and  abrasion.  About  thirty  years  is  supposed  to  be 
\  the  average  life  of  coins  and  the  losses  continue  on  the  increase, 
V     and  will  so  continue. 

GOLD  PRODUCTION  INCREASING. 

The  production  of  gold  throughout  the  world  has  been  in- 
creasing during  the  past  ten  years,  likewise  the  demand  for  coin- 
age and  the  arts,  besides  more  being  very  largely  hoarded.  Take 
the  case  of  Egypt  during  the  past  18  years,  that  country  has  im- 
ported a  net  amount  of  about  $180,000,000,  yet  the  banks  of 
Egypt  do  not  hold  of  gold  exceeding  $12,000,000.  The  Egyp- 
tians are  great  hoarders. 

UNITED  STATES  AND  FRANCE. 

The  per  capita  circulation  of  gold  and  silver  in  1907  of  the 
United  States  compared  with  that  of  France  is  as  follows,  to-wit: 

Gold.  Silver. 

France • $23.75  $10.75 

United   States 16.50  8.50 

France  is  all  the  while  buying  silver  bullion  produced  in  the 
United  States,  now  at  the  very  low  price  of  51  cents  per  ounce, 
and  has  it  coined  at  the  ratio  of  about  $1.33  per  ounce,  making 
the  enormous  profit  of  about  80  cents  per  ounce.  France  has  the 
silver  coined  for  their  people,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Colonies. 
During  three  years,  1903,  4  and  5,  France  had  coined  of  silver 
$70,887,561,  and  made  a  profit  of  about  $30,000,000;  our  people 
sustained  the  loss. 

-^  ASIATIC  SILVER. 

During  the  campaign  for  the  presidency  in  1896,  Mr. 
Barrett,  ex-minister  to  Siam,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1896,  ad- 
dressed the  people  of  San  Diego  upon  the  silver  question,  and  at 
times  was  roundly  applauded.  Mr.  Barrett  stated:  "I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes  that  Japan,  China  and  Siam  were  praying  for  Mr. 
Bryan's  election  that  they  might  dump  their  vast  accumulations 
of  silver  on  our  shores  and  get  gold  in  return." 

At  the  close  I  requested  a  minute  to  make  reply,  but  was 
denied.  The  statements  made  by  Mr.  Barrett  were  ridiculous  and 
not  credible.  Those  countries  were  only  of  late  years  beginning 
to  make  progress  in  building  up  their  commerce.  They  needed  all 
the  silver  possible  to  secure  for  circulation.  Take  China,  the  per 
capita  circulation  does  not  exceed  $1.00  in  silver,  say  $400,000,- 
000  distributed  over  a  vast  empire  of  400,000,000  population, 
which  took  many  years  in  gaining  the  silver,  and  it  would  be  im- 


106 

possible  to  gather,  besides  could  not  be  dispensed  with  for  a  day- 
out  of  the  business,  all  of  it  being  in  very  active  use.  Besides, 
China,  with  its  present  progress  needs  a  far  larger  circulation  in 
silver,  as  it  is  the  money  of  the  masses.  During  three  years, 
1893-4-5,  Asiatic  nations  had  coined,  to-wit: 

British  India $    57,493,822 

Hong   Kong 34,822,044 

Indo-China 19,905,000 

Siam 8,651,794 

Japan 25,824,947 

China 19,275,585 

Total $165,973,192 

Where  could  be  found  th6  vast  accumulations  of  silver?  The 
Asiatics  do  not  desire  to  dispose  of  their  silver,  they  could  not 
if  they  would.  China  should  now  have,  in  order  to  build  up  more 
rapidly  its  growing  commerce,  a  silver  circulation  of  at  least 
$5.00  per  capita,  say  $2,000,000,000  for  the  400,000,000  people, 
which  to  give  China  the  adequate  circulation  would  take  the  en- 
tire product  of  the  world  for  ten  years,  rating  production  at 
$200,000,000  per  annum. 

GIGANTIC  SILVER  SCHEME. 

Extracts  from  an  article  in  the  N.  Y.  "Herald,"  under  the 
heading,  "Silver  Bullion  for  China."  "There  is  a  big  scheme  on  foot 
to  furnish  China  with  the  necessary  silver  bullion  for  paying  off  the 
war  indemnity  of  200,000,000  taels  to  Japan.  Prominent  Amer- 
icans, and  possibly  Englishmen,  will  take  a  hand  in  it.  There 
might  have  been  big  profits  in  such  a  scheme,  but  the  Japanese 
were  not  so  stupid  as  to  allow  the  indemnity  to  be  paid  in  so 
many  teals,  but  they  specified,  it  is  said,  that  it  should  amount  to 
so  many  taels'  worth  of  bullion,  which  amounts  to  double. 

"This  spoils  the  chance  for  a  really  big  deal.  The  proposed 
Chinese  loan  will  be  on  a  gold  basis,  and  after  it  has  be.^n  ar- 
ranged and  the  money  obtained  thereby,  China  will  be  free  to  buy 
silver  wherever  she  chooses  and  have  it  delivered  as  Japan  di- 
rects. It  is  believed  by  foreign  bankers  in  New  York  that  a  very 
large  part  of  the  silver  will  be  drawn  from  this  country." 

MORTON,  HENDERSON,  HAIG,  MANNING  AND  ATKINSON. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  there  exists  a  syndicate  with  a  big 
scheme  to  grab  the  $120,000,000  silver  bullion  in  the  U.  S.  treas- 
ury, bought  under  the  law  of  the  14th  of  July,  189  0,  as  evidence 
the  repeated  urging  of  late  of  its  sale.  Secretary  Morton  urged 
Secretary  Carlisle  to  "sell  it  as  so  much  scrap  iron  lyin.;  in  the 
treasury." 

Ex-Senator  John  B.  Hender.son,  a  leading  lawyer  of  St.  J^oiiis, 
at  the  request  of  Secretary  Carlisle,  gave  his  views  on  the  fmancial 
question  through  the  press.  In  his  second  proposition  he  urged- 
"the  silver  bullion  in  the  government's  vaults  should  at  once  be 
sold  for  cash  in  gold." 

George  Augustus  Haig,  in  a  letter  of  May  30,  1893,  states 
thus:  "I  would  recommend  the  U.  S.  government  to  offer  to  sup- 
ply the  British  government  with  120,000,000  ounces  of  pure  silver 
at  80  cents  per  ounce.  It  will  sugar  the  pill  and  make  it  more 
easily  swallowed.  You  have  plenty  of  silver  bought  a  long  way 
below  80  cents,  so  you  would  make  money  by  the  transaction." 


107 

Ex-Secretary  Manning,  Edward  Atkinson  and  others  have 
urged  its  sale.  "" 

The  schemes  of  1873  and  1893  show  who  the  power  is  he- 
hind  the  throne.  Once  it  has  been  agreed  upon  to  sell,  the  price 
can  be  lowered  from  80  cents  to  the  present  market  price,  60 
cents.  Who  is  it. that  can  command  such  an  enormous  amount  of 
gold;  that  can  pay  down  the  cash  at  once  for  the  120,000,000 
ounces  of  silver  bullion  at  80  cents  per  ounce?  There  are  millions 
in  it. 

FAILURE  OF  SILVER  SCHEME. 

Owing  to  the  very  large  amount  of  silver  certificates  that  had 
been  issued  in  small  denominations  of  one,  two  and  five  dollar 
notes,  amounting  to  about  $100,000,000,  and  which  were  scattered 
among  the  people  all  over  the  country,  they  could  not  be  collected 
for  redemption  and  the  silver  had  to  remain  in  the  treasury. 
Thus  the  scheme  failed.  Had  the  certificates  been  in  large  denom- 
inations, the  silver  would  ^have  been  secured. 

The  London  "Central  News"  correspondent  in  Madrid,  Spain, 
sends  this  dispatch:  "A  sensation  has  been  caused  by  the  dis- 
covery that  24,000,000  spurious  Spanish  silver  dollars  are  in 
circulation.  The  coins  are  of  the  full  mint  weight;  many  are 
even  slightly  superior  to  the  standard.  The  authorized  dollar  has 
a  face  value  of  5  pesetas  and  an  intrinsic  value  of  about  2  % 
pesetas.  Hence  the  coiners  of  full  weight  dollars  can  make  a  high 
profit.  The  Spanish  officials  say  that  the  dollars  are  produced  in 
France  and  America.  Certain  bankers  here  are  suspected  of  com- 
plicity in  the  distribution  of  them." 

"Sir  Morton  Frewen  reports  that  large  numbers  of  U.  S.  sil- 
ver dollars  are  in  circulation  in  the  Straits  Settlements,  and  has 
an  idea  that  they  are  being  coined  by  some  banking  firm  in  Lon- 
don." 

SPANISH  COUNTERFEITERS'  TRADE  IS  PROFITABLE. 

Paris,  Aug.  29,^1908. — Coiners  seem  to  have  about  the  most 
secure  and  profitable  business  that  exists  in  Spain.  For  fif- 
teen years  they  availed  themselves  of  the  difference  between 
silver  bullion  and  coined  silver  and  turned  out  five-peseta  (dol- 
lar) pieces  that  were  just  as  good  metal  as  the  state  product. 
All  the  issues  from  1876  to  1894  were  falsified.  The  police  have 
never  got  on  the  coiners'  tracks. 

Their  business  reached  such  volume  that  the  government 
intervened  and  the  Cortes  passed  a  law  retiring  all  the  doubt- 
ful pieces  from  circulation  and  reconverting  them  into  silver 
ingots  to  be  put  "on  the  market  for  sale.  The  treasury  loses  be- 
tween $30,000,000  and  $40,000,000  on  the  forged  five-peseta 
pieces.  The  period  from  ^he  10th  to  the  24th  of  this  month 
was  fixed  for  the  Bank  of  Spain,  its  branches  and  the  state  to- 
bacco stores  to  accept  good  pieces  for  bad.  As  for  the  coiners, 
they  may  apparently  continue  their  business  until  the  market  is 
flooded  again. — N.  Y.  Am.  Sept.   8,  1908. 

If  our  government  would  restore  the  coinage  of  the  silver 
dollar  as  it  existed  for  81  years,  with  great  benefit,  i^  would 
again  prove  of  an  inestimable  advantage  in  every  business  way. 
Increasing  the  volume  of  money,  enhancing  silver  bullion  to  its 
coinage  value,  create  vast  trade  between  our  country  and  Latin 
American  and  Asiatic  countries,  using  silver  coins.  Further  it 
would  stop  the  work  of  the  illegitimate  coinage  of  silver  bullion 


108 

that  is  now  being  made  at  an  enormous  profit  oy  surreptitious 
coinage.  Our  people  produce  the  silver  and  should  have  the  ben- 
efit. 

FRENCH  FINANCIER.  ~"^v. 

The  late  M.  Rolin,  ex-director  of  the  Bank  of  France,  and\ 

member  of  the  convention  held  in  Paris  regarding  the  coinage     1 

silver  declared  "that  since  the  dawn  of  civilization,  both  gold     I 

silver,  as  money,  had  most  usefully  and  beneficially  served     I 

the  people  of  the  world,  and  that  the  suspension  of  the  coinage    j 

of  either  metal  would  prove  a  great  disaster."  ^/ 

FINANCIER  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

Sir  Morton  Frewen,  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  world,  in 
regard  to  monetary  affairs,  repeatedly  published  statements  de- 
nouncing the  proposition  to  suspend  the  coinage  of  silver,  say- 
ing it  would  prove  exceedingly  injurious  to  the  commerce  of 
the  world.  Since  the  suspension  by  tlje  United  States  and  other 
countries,  he  continues  to  denounce  the  great  wrong  done  the 
people. 

In  1895  Sir  Morton  Frewen  published  a  statement  of  the 
surreptitious  coinage  and  circulation  of  U.  S.  silver  dollars  in 
large  numbers  in  the  Straits  Settlements.  Who  was  it  that  had 
those  silver  dollars  coined?     Where  were  they  shipped  to? 

MONO-GOLD  STANDARD  A  STEPPING  STONE  TO  ANARCHY. 

Here  is  what  the  most  eminent  financier  that  has  lived  in 
this  country  had  to  say  in  regard  to  silver  coinage:  "A  paper 
from  John  Thompson,  vice-president  of  the  Chase  National  Bank 
of  New  York,  was  then  read  as  follows:  'With  the  demonetiza- 
tion of  silver  began  an  era  of  (Jontraction  not  perhaps  shown  by 
the  aggregate  figures  of  outstanding  currency,  but  by  a  dispro- 
portion between  the  increase  of  currency  and  the  business  of  the 
country,  which  has  increased  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  growth 
of  our  circulating  medium.  Our  working  currency  consists  of 
legal  tender  U,  S.  notes,  National  Bank  notes,  silver  coin  and  silver 
certificates.  The  latter  do  not  now  increase  as  fast  as  the  na- 
tional bank  notes  are  retired.  Therefore  it  can  be  truthfully 
said  that  the  stock  of  currency  that  does  the  work  of  the  coun- 
try is  slowly  but  surely  diminishing,  while  the  business  demands 
upon  it  are  constantly  increasing.  There  have  been  two  influ- 
ences at  work  tending  to  increase  the  measuring  power  of  money 
in  the  United  States,  and  there  has  been  a  consequent  deprecia- 
tion of  property.  The  one  was  the  general  effect  of  the  demone- 
tization of  silver,  and  the  other  the  contraction  of  the  particular 
kind  of  currency  used,  while  our  dollars  are  of  silver  and  silver 
certificates  are  based  upon  them.  So  far  both  these  dollars  and 
their  representatives  have  been  restricted  in  amount  and  kept  on 
a  gold  basis  by  a  policy  that  has  favored  a  gold  mono-metalic 
standard.  The  demonetization  of  silver  has  been  and  is  a  wicked  . 
preference  given  to  the  creditor  over  the  debtor  classes  of  our 
entire  population,  and  it  is  this  preference  that  is  driving  our  mid- 
dle classes  into  poverty  and  enabling  millionaires  to  multiply 
their  millions.  Nothing  in  my  opinion,  will  save  our  people  from 
social  revolution  so  surely  as  a  full  remonetization  of  silver  and 
giving  it  all  the  advantages  we  are  now  giving  to  gold,  both  in 
law  and  in  the  ruling  of  our  treasury  department.  A  mono-gold 
standard  is  the  stepping  stone  to  anarchy.     Nay,  it  is  more;  it  is  a 


109 

flight  of  stairs  leading  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to  bank- 
ruptcy, panics,  suicide,  repudiation,  agrarianism  and  universal 
poverty  among  all  real  wealth  producers,  for  whose  welfare  the 
best  -minds,  best  statemanship,  and  best  representaitves  of  all 
legitimate  business  interests  should  ever  be  enlisted.'  " 

BANK  NOTE  REPORTER  AND  COUNTERFEIT  DETECTOR. 

The  lat  John  Thompson,  of  New  York  City,  was  the  pro- 
prietor and  editor,  in  early  days,  of  the  "Bank  Note  Reporter  and 
Counterfeit  Detector",  afterwards  founder  of  the  First  National 
Bank,  and,  later,  of  the  Chase  National  Bank  of  New  York  City. 

In  the  "forties",  while  buying  and  selling  uncurrent  bank 
notes,  the  "Reporter"  was  kept  on  the  counter  constantly  for 
reference. 

John  Thompson,  Warwick  Martin  and  Peter  Cooper  were  the 
peers  of  financers  of  the'  United  States.     Each   of  them,  to  my 

V knowledge,  denounced  the  crime  of  the  suspension  of  the  coin- 
age of  the  'Standard  Silver  Dollar"  in  1873,  and  afterwards 
each  of  them  urged  the  re&toration  of  the  coinage.  It  is  still  in 
order  and  should  be  done.  It  would  be  of  vastly  immense  benefit 
to  our  people.     In  fact  all  the  world  would  be  greatly  benefitted. 

^  FOLLY  OF  MONO-dMETALLISM. 

/  Philadelphia,  Dec.  22,  1892. 

/  Editor  of  the   "Manufacturer":      Your   views   on   the   silver 

/    question  are,  in  every  respect,  perfectly  correct — and  I  say  this 
I     from  an  experience  of  over  fifty  years  in  the  banking  business. 
I  Our  statesmen  and  the  press,  generally,  are  woefully  blind 

1  to  the  effect  this  opposition  to  the  remonetization  of  silver  is  hav- 
I  ing  on  our  country's  prosperity,  to  say  nothing  of  what  is  greater, 
\its  effect  upon  the  whole  world. 

It  seems  inconceivable  that  when  the  world  is  increasing  so 
rapidly  in  population,  in  development  of  every  kind,  in  railroads, 
manufacturing,  and  the  opening  of  vast  agricultural  regions,  that 
the  business  of  this  world,  by  a  mere  arbitrary  decree,  should  be 
reduced  to  a  condition  of  reliance  upon  gold  only,  as  a  measure  of 
values;  and,  then,  in  my  opinion,  we  have  not  yet  begun  to  feel 
the  full  weight  of  this  foolish  and  absurd  attempt  to  bring  the 
world  to  conform  to  mono-metallism. 

The  demonetization  of  silver  in  1873,  although  a  measure 
enacted  ignorantly,  confessed  by  Congress,  was  a  great  crime  to 
civilization  and  progress;  and,  further,  the  vast  majority  of  the 
people,  who  are  not  capitalists,  have  been  reduced  in  resources 
and  in  debt-paying  capacity  to  the  full  extent  of  the  withdrawal  of 
of  the  legal  tender  silver  money. 

It  is  almost  laughable,  were  it  not  so  serious,  to  read  the  edi- 
torials in  the  daily  press  of  the  country,  which  are  in  a  great  ma- 
jority averse  to  the  upholding  of  silver  and  restoring  it  to  the 
basis  of  16  to  1,  and  to  its  former  position  as  a  legal  tender,  debt- 
paying  metal. 

Silver,  for  all  time,  has  held  a  place  far  above  that  of  gold 
in  the  money  transactions  of  the  world.  Amongst  at  least  two- 
thirds  of  the  population  of  the  world  it  is  now  the  sole  currency. 
Now,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  when  the  world  is  full  of  activities 
and  development,  instead  of  making  a  legal  tender  basis  of  silver 
and  gold  each,  the  wiseacres  of  this  day  have  deliberately  de- 
stroyed one-half  of  this  necessary  basis.  Was  there  ever  anything 
so  full  of  folly? 


110 

The  newspapers  seem  to  be  doing  all  they  can  to  create  a  panic 
by  declaring  that  the  further  buying  of  silver  will  expel  the  gold 
from  the  United  States  treasury,  and  from  this  country,  which  is 
a  silly  prognastication.  It  has  no  foundation  whatever  in  fact,  or 
in  the  experience  of  those  who  have  watched  the  course  of  events 
in  the  past. 

Hoping  that  you  will  continue  to  battle  as  you  have  done  in 
the  past,  namely,  for  the  right,  I  am  sincerely  your  friend  and 
rell-wisher,  JAY    COOKE. 

Jay  Cooke,  the  leading  and  most  prominent  financier  during 
the  Civil  War,  in  his  letter  declares,  "The  demonitization  of  silver 
\  in  1873,  a  measure  enacted  ignorantly,  was  a  great  crime  to  civ- 
ilization and  progress." 

Senators  Sherman  and  Bayard  were  not  ignorant  of  the  vile 
wrong  done.  Bayard  was  attorney  for,  Belmont,  the  fiscal  agent 
of  the  Rothschilds,  who  gained  immensely  by  the  foul  deed. 

REMONETIZE  SILVER. 

Right  the  frightful  and  foul  wrong  done  our  people  in  sus- 
pending the  coinage  of  legal  tender  silver  money  as  it  had  existed 
for  81  years,  and  had  been  all  the  while  of  inestimable  service, 
not  only  to  our  people,  but  to  those  of  the  great  masses  of  the 
world. 

The  suspension  of  the  coinage  of  silver  by  our  government 
has  forced  down  the  value  of  the  silver  coins  of  Mexico,  Central 
and  South  America,  Japan,  Philippines  and  other  countries,  where 
not  sustained  by  the  legal  tender  value  at  the  same 
ratio  of  the  gold  coin,  to  more  than  one-half  of  its 
previous  coinage  value,  also  reduced  the  value  more  than 
fifty  per  cent  of  all  the  silverware  of  the  people  of  the  entire 
world.  Injured  immensely  the  trade  of  the  manufacturers  in 
silverware,  caused  by  the  constant  fluctuation  of  the  value  of 
silver,  and  most  injuriously  affected  the  commerce  of  all  nations. 

The  United  States  government  has  the  power  and  wealth  to 
immediately  restore  the  coinage  of  silver,  which  would  immeas- 
urably benefit  the  people  of  the  world,  not  only  in  restoring  the 
value  of  the  silver  coins  and  silverware  in  all  countries,  but  en- 
abling the  increases  in  the  volume  of  money  absolutely  needed 
to  enable  all  the  pebple  to  build  up  their  constantly  growing 
wealth.  Open  the  mints  to  the  coinage  of  silver.  It  is  the  talis- 
man to  right  the  foul  wrong  done  the  people  of  all  nations.  It 
would  add  immediately  and  vastly  to  their  wealth.  Such  action 
would  rapidly  create  prosperous  conditions  throughout  the 
world.  Here  the  increase  of  money  only,  has  been  the  great  power 
that  has  been  improving  the  condition  of  the  people  of  the  world 
during  past  centuries. 

~X^  GREAT   BENEFITS   FROM  RESTORATION   OF   SILVER 

COINAGE. 

As  stated  before,  the  benefits  that  would  come  to  the  peo- 
ple through  the  coinage  of  the  Standard  Silver  Dollar,  would  be 
immense. 

1.  It  would  cause  silver  bullion  to  advance  immediately 
from  its  commercial  value  of  52  cents  per  ounce  to  the  legal  ten- 
der or  coinage  value  of  $1.2  9  per  ounce,  and  thereafter  to  remain 
permanently  on  an  equality  in  value  .with  gold  bullion. 

2.  It  would  cause  the  opening  of  many  new  silver  mines, 
the  re-opening  of  many  abandoned  mines — closed  owing  to  the 


Ill 

low  price  of  the  bullion — also  the  active  and  rapid  development 
of  all  silver  mines,  also  many  gold  mines  that  do  not  under 
present  conditions  pay  to  work  on  account  of  the  low  price  of  the 
silver  and  other  metals  taken  out  of  them. 

3.  It  would  cause  the  active  working  of  many  lead,  iron 
and  coal  mines,  also  lime  quarries,  as  all  these  products  are  used 
very  largely  in  producing  silver  bullion,  also  in  smelting  the  ores. 

4.  It  would  bring  about  an  immense  demand  for  all  kinds  of 
machinery  and  cause  very  active  work  in  all  foundaries  and  ma- 
chine shops. 

5.  It  would  create  an  immense  demand  for  all  products  of 
the  ocean,  garden,  orchard  and  farm;  also  of  caneries,  manufac- 
tories of  shoes,  hats,  clothing,  millinery  goods,  rubber  goods,  elec- 
trical products,  powder,  dynamite,  and  in  fact  everything  that  is 
used  or  consummed  by  mankind.  Silver  miners  are  the  most  lib- 
eral and  generous  consumers  in  proportion  to  their  income  of 
any  class;    besides,  they  are  prompt  and  good  pay. 

6.  It  would  create  an  immense  demand  for  wood  and  lum- 
ber, as  both  are  used  very  largely  in  mining  and  by  miners  in 
building  homes,  etc. 

7.  It  would  put  to  work  in  a  brief  period  at  least  300,000 
persons  in  the  mines  and  different  branches  of  business  incidental 
to  the  activity  in  mining,  tnat  are  now  idle.  In  fact,  one  can 
scarcely  imagine  what  would  be  the  activity  of  its  ramifications. 

8.  It  would  bring  into  generous  consumption  all  the  newly 
employed  and  those  dependent  upon  them, — over  3,000,000 
persons;  also,  all  persons  in  employment,  through  increased  sal- 
aries and  wages  resulting  from  the  great  activity  that  will  come 
in  all  business. 

9  It  would  largely  benefit  schools  and  all  institutions  of 
learning,  as  well  as  the  churches — through  full  and  active  em- 
ployment of  the  people  at  the  increased  salaries  and  wages. 

10.  It  would  immensely  benefit  all  the  railroads,  steamers, 
ships  and  all  crafts,  in  the  heavy  addition  to  transportations  of 
passengers  and  freight,  .  resulting  from  the  prosperous  times 
silver  coinage  would  bring. 

11.  It  would  cause  the  silver  coin  of  all  countries  of  equal 
standard  to  our  silver  dollar,  to  advance  to  par;  that  is,  on  a 
parity  with  the  gold  dollar.  The  rupee  of  British  India  would 
advance  to  par — 4  7  cents  in  lieu  of  33  cents,  the  present  legal 
valuation  which  cost  them  16  cents  and  with  it  British  India  ex- 
change, which  is  based  upon  silver  bullion;  also  the  Mexican 
dollar  and  the  yen  of  Japan,  would  advance  to  par,  and  those 
countries  would  not  thereafter  have  such  a  decided  advantage  in 
exporting  their  products  into  our  country.  Cheap  silver  bullion 
now  acts  as  a  bounty. 

12.  It  would  immensely  increase  our  trade  with  Mexico, 
also  Central  and  South  American  countries,  which  produce  sil- 
ver bullion  and  use  silver  coin  as  money,  most  of  which  coun- 
tries now  trade  with  European  mechants. 

13.  It  would  immensely  enlarge  the  value  of  our  exports  to 
European  and  Asiatic  countries,  as  the  quantity  now  sent  abroad 
would  have  a  largely  increased  value  over  present  quantities  ex- 
ported. 

14.  It  would  immensely  benefit  the  people  of  all  countries 
that  now  use  depreciated  silver  coin  mainly  in  their  transactions, 
through  the  large  increase  in  value  of  their  coins  to  par,  as  they 
would  receive  a  far  larger  quantity  of  products  for  their  money. 


112 

Mexico  and  all  South  American  countries  which  produce  largely 
of  silver  bullion  would  be  immensely  benefited  through  the  great 
activity  in  the  working  of  all  their  mines  and  the  very  large  in- 
crease of  money  resulting  from  its  use. 

15.  It  would  immensely  benefit  our  shipping  interests 
through  the  increased  value  of  the  products  and  the  large  increase 
in  transportation  of  passengers  and  freight. 

16.  It  would  largely  increase  the  product  of  gold  in  our 
country,  as  two-fifths  of  all  our  gold  comes  out  of  silver  mines; 
also  largely  increase  the  product  of  silver  bullion  through  the 
great  activity  in  working  of  the  increased  number  of  silver  and 
gold  mines. 

17.  It  would  enable  our  merchants  dealing  with  Asiatics,  to 
settle  their  enormous  balances  owing  for  teas,  silks,  spices,  rice, 
etc.,  of  about  $85,000,000  per  annum,  in  silver  bullion  perma- 
nently at  about  $1.29  per  ounce,  its  legal  tender  or  coinage  value, 
in  lieu  of  its  fluctuating  commodity  value,  now  52  cents  per  ounce. 
For  3  6  years  silver  bullion  has  been  tumbling  in  price,  causing 
heavy  losses  to  our  importers.  The  merchant  who  bought  the 
cheapest  bullion  had  the  best  bargain  over  his  neighbor.  Last 
year  silver  bullion  which  could  have  been  coined  Into  $60,000,000 
w^s  exported  at  its  commidity  value  of  58  cents  per  ounce,  a  loss 
of  about  $30,000,000  to  our  people.  The  Asiatics  will  in  a  few 
years  make  an  enormous  demand  for' silver  bullion  for  coinage, 
also  the  arts. 

18.  It  would  largely  increase  the  volume  of  money  through 
the  largely  increased  output  of  the  large  increase  in  mining  of 
both  gold  and  silver — and  this  large  increase  in  the  volume  of 
money  would  bring  general  prosperity  and  largely  benefit  every 
business  in  the  country, 

19.  It  would  largely  increase  salaries  and  wages  of  all  per- 
sons working  in  or  about  silver  or  gold  mines,  and  in  all  other 
business  benefitted  by  the  increased  working  of  all  mines,  also 
benefitted  by  the  increased  volume  in  money  coming  from  mining. 

20.  It  would  cause  a  large  increase  in  the  consumption  of 
silver  bullion  in  the  arts,  as  the  manufactured  silver  would  have  a 
permanent  coinage  value,  which  would  make  investments  in  such 
products  safe  and  desirable. 

21.  It  would  start  actively  railroad  building  through  the 
mining  and  agricultural  sections,  to  afford  facilities  arising  from 
the  great  activity  in  and  large  increase  in  all  kinds  of  mining. 

22.  It  would  cause  an  immense  demand  for  all  products, 
through  an  increased  demand  for  generous  consumption,  created 
by  activity  in  employment,  and  thus  force  prices  of  all  products 
to  advance. 

23.  It  would  create  an  active  demand  for  lands  and  farm 
property,  caused  by  the  profits  arising  in  farming  from  the  in- 
creased value  of  all  farm  produces. 

24.  It  would  create  an  active  demand  for  all  village,  town 
and  city  property,  from  the  improved  condition  of  all  the  people, 
who  would  then  be  buying  instead  of  selling  out  their  homes. 

25.  It  would  start  up  largely  and  actively  railroad,  ship, 
factory,  store  and  house  building,  through  the  improved  condition 
brought  about  by  the  immense  increase  in  mining  in  all  kinds 
of  minerals,  by  being  enabled  to  do  so  by  the  largely  increased 
volumne  of  money  coming  out  of  the  great  number  of  mines. 

2  6.  It  would  make  much  easier  the  collection  of  debts, 
through  the  improved  condition  of  the  people  by  the  enhanced 


113 

value   in   products   and   property,   also   by   the   largely   increased 
money  volume,  and  stop  foreclosures. 

27.  It  would,  through  the  enhanced  value  of  silver  bullion 
to  its  coinage  value,  stop  the  surreptitious  coining  of  silver  bullion, 
and  Mexican  silver  dollars  into  U.  S.  standard  silver  dollars,  which 
is  being  done  very  largely,  and  thus  make  counterfeiting  unprofit- 
able.    Counterfeiters'  profits  would  cease. 

28.  It  would  restore  confidence  and  convince  the  people  that 
here  is  more  honesty  among  one  another. 

29.  It  would,  through  the  large  increase  in  the  volume  of 
money,  largely  increase  the  deposits  in  the  banks,  which  would 
relieve  them  from  their  present  strain  and  embarrassed  condition, 
also  enable  them  to  increase  their  loans,  facilitate  collections,  and 
make  banking  more  profitable  than  now. 

30.  It  would  greatly  relieve  manufacturers  and  merchants, 
through  an  enlarged  business  from  the  enlarged  consumption, 
also  from  being  enabled  to  procure  loans  from  banks  without  be- 
ing required  to  give  "all  the  world"  for  security,  and  render 
business  profitable. 

31.  It  would  stop  the  issuing  of  bonds  by  our  government, 
also  enable  our  government  to  begin  again  paying  off  its  indebted- 
ness, through  the  large  increase  in  its  revenues,  resulting  from  the 
improved  and  largely  enlarged  business  of  the  country. 

32.  It  would  make  the  great  masses  of  the  people — who  are 
now  sad  and  careworn — prosperous,  contended  and  happy,  oc- 
casioned by  their  improved  condition  and  prosperity. 

MONEY. 

Q.      What  is  money  of  the  United  States? 

A.  A  creation  of  law,  an  enactment  by  Congress,  declaring 
legal  tender. 

Q.     For  what  purpose  did  our  Government  create  money? 

A.  To  pay  debts.  In  the  payment  of  debts  it  enables  the 
exchange  of  services  and  products,  creates  commerce,  which  em- 
ploys labor  and  causes  the  building  of  towns  and  cities. 

Q.  Why  did  our  government  make  use  of  gold,  silver,  nickel, 
copper  and  paper  to  create  money? 

A.  Of  gold,  because  it  is  hard,  wears  well,  and  very  difficult 
to  counterfeit,  used  by  all  nations  of  vast  wealth  to  make  settle- 
ment in  large  commercial  transactions.  It  is  a  scarce  mineral 
and  very  valuable  for  manufacture  into  jewelry  and  the  arts  for 
the  wealthy  people,  and  should  be  created  a  full  legal  tender  to 
pay  any  debt  up  to  a  certain  sum,  say  $5,000,  not  too  cumber- 
some to  handle  in  business  transactions. 

,  A.  Of  silver,  for  the  same  reason  as  gold,  it  being  hard, 
lasting  and  difficult  to  counterfeit,  needed  in  greater  quantity  and 
used  vastly  more  by  the  great  masses  of  the  people  throughout  the 
world,  and  enables  commercial  exchanges  with  nations  of  vast 
population.  Used  for  manufacture  into  jewelry  and  the  arts, 
should  be  created  a  full  legal  tender  in  payment  of  debts,  but 
limited  to  sums  of  $500  in  one  payment  for  dollar  coins,  $200 
for  50  cent  coins,  $100  for  quarter,  $10  in  10  cent  pieces,  $2.00 
for  nickels,  and  50  cents  for  cent  coins. 

A.  Of  paper,  because  the  material  is  inexpensive,  durable 
and  not  susceptible  to  being  counterfeited,  can  be  used  for  trans- 
actions in  vast  sums,  should  be  issued  only  by  the  Government, 
creptpd  a  full  legal  tender  to  pay  any  debt,  but  the  amount  of  the 
tender  should  be  regulated  by  the  denomination  of  the  bills,  say: 


114 

BETWEEN  INDIVIDUALS. 

1.00 

bills 

legal  to  pay 

$         500 

5.00 

" 

3,000 

10.00 

" 

5,000 

20.00 

" 

10,000 

50.00 

" 

20,000 

100.00 

" 

50,000 

500.00 

" 

100,000 

000.00 

" 

unlimited 

CERTIFICATES. 

The  government  should  receive  on  deposit  gold  and  silver 
coin,  and  issue  certificates  of  deposit  therefor.  For  the  gold 
coin,  gold  certificates  in  denominations  of  not  less,  than  $1000, 
and  silver  certificates  in  denominations  of  $500  and  up.  All  cer- 
tificates to  be  a  legal  tender  in  any  sum,  otherwise  the  small 
notes  will  remain  in  circulation  and  the  coin  be  held  in  the 
treasury. 

MONEY. 

The  money  of  the  United  States  is  a  creation  of  law  a  legal 
tender  enacted  by  Congress.  It  is  made  for  one  purpose  only — 
that  is,  to  pay  debts.  In  paying  debts  it  enables  settlements  for 
services  and  the  exchange  of  products,  which  carries  on  and  builds 
up  commerce.  The  par  value  of  money  depends  solely  upon  its 
having  full  debt  paying  power,  a  legal  tender. 

If  it  is  excepted  from  paying  certain  debts  then  it  is  dis- 
credited and  subject  to  depreciation.  Therefore,  it  is  the  duty 
of  our  people  to  be  vigilant  and  see  that  our  government  issuer 
money  only  having  full  debt  paying  power;  genuine  money,  honest 
money.  Such  money  will  at  all  times  be  worth  100  cents  to  the 
dollar,  provided  Congress  prohibits  all  debts  from  being  made 
payable  in  specific  money.  Creditors  should  not  be  accorded  priv- 
ileges over  debtors.  Both  should  stand  before  the  law  on  an 
equality.  It  is  against  public  policy  to  permit  debts  to  be  made 
payable  in  gold  or  any  particular  kind  of  money.  If  permitted, 
and  such  gold  or  other  kind  of  money  becomes  scarce  from  expor- 
tation, hoarding  or  being  cornered,  then  such  money  is  made  more 
valuable  by  legislation,  than  any  other  money  not  possessing  such 
debt-paying  power,  and  thus  debtors,  to  pay  their  debts,  are  forced 
to  buy  such  scarce  gold  money  and  pay  a  premium,  to  their  great 
loss  and  injury.  It  hinders  trade,  hampers  commerce,  and  causes 
great  loss  to  the  people.  Farmers,  laborers,  merchants  and  land- 
owners would  be  forced  to  receive  the  depreciated  money,  while 
the  bond  and  holders  of  notes  with  special  gold  contracts,  only 
would  receive  the  most  valuable  money. 

POWER  OF  MONEY. 

The  money  supply  should  always  be  generous  and  ampl  3  for 
the  successful  running  of  all  of  our  industries.  It  should  never  be 
allowed  to  decrease  from  any  cause,  but  kept  increasing  wi*^^h  the 
increase  of  the  population  and  industries.  If  coin  should  be  ex- 
ported for  any  reason,  or  paper  money  should  be  retired  from  cir- 
culation, then  other  money,  made  by  our  government  only,  should 
replace  the  same.  Had  such  been  the  case  the  people  of  our 
country  would  not  have  suffered  from  the  periodical  financial 
panics  that  have  heretofore  prevailed  over  our  land,  nor  would 
they  at  this  time  be  suffering  from  the  crisis  that  is  now  upon 
us.     The  volume  of   money   in  the  channels  of  trade   regulates 


115 

5  well  as  the  pay  for  wages  and  salaries. 

The  condition  of  the  people  in  every  country  depends  upon 
the  volume  of  money  in  circulation  and  its  full  debl-paying 
power.  If  the  volume  of  full  debt-paying-power  money  is  ample, 
to  keep  all  the  people  fully  employed  and  thus  enable  them  to 
consume  generously  of  all  the  products,  then  they  will  be  pros- 
perous, happy  and  honest;  otherwise  poverty  and  misery  will 
prevail  to  a  large  extent;  also  crime  will  increase. 

The  money  question  is  paramount  to  all  other  questions. 
Give  the  people  plenty  of  money  and  they  will  take  care  of  them- 
selves. Ihey  will  erect  good  schools  and  educate  their  children. 
They  will  take  hold  of  the  storehouse  of  nature  and  bring  forth 
the  hidden  forces  that  exist  in  the  elements.  They  will  enslave  the 
elements,  not  men.  They  will  liberate  the  people  and  give  them 
money  to  maintain  civilization  and  business. 

RISE  AND  FALL  OF  PRICES. 

"That  commodities  would  rise  or  fall  in  price  in  proportion 
to  the  increase  or  diminution  of  money.  I  assume  as  a  fact  that 
is  incontrovertible." — Ricardo. 

If  the  money  volume  is  ample,  all  is  well.     If  it  is  insuffi-- 
cient,  all  is  wrong.     Therefore  it  behooves  the  people  to  be  ever 
on  their  guard,  and  watchful  of  all  legislation  relating  to  finan- 
cial matters,  to  see  that  no  wrong  be  accomplished. 

EFFECTS   MONEY   INCREASED   OR   DECREASED. 

"In  whatever  degree  the  quantity  of  money  is  increased  or 
diminished,  other  things  remaining  the  same,  in  that  same  pro- 
portion the  value  of  the  whole  and  of  every  part  is  reciprocally 
diminished  or  increased." — James  Mill. 

SILVER  PERMANENT. 

The  population  of  the  world  is  all  the  while  increasing  and 
their  wealth  growing  rapidly  into  immensely  vast  proportions. 
Therefore,  the  people  in  order  to  maintain  prosperous  conditions 
should  demand  a  continuous  increase  in  the  volume  of  legal 
tender  money. 

Both  gold  and  silver  coin  always  have  and  ever  will  be  de- 
manded in  increasing  volume  by  the  people  in  the  various  sec- 
tions of  the  world  to  make  their  exchanges. 

China  and  British  India,  having  a  population  of  about  750,- 
000,000  need  annually  an  enormous  increase  to  their  money  cir- 
culation in  order  to  keep  the  people  fully  employed,  enable  them 
to  consume  generously,  build  up  their  commerce,  and  maintain  a 
continuously  prosperous  condition.  The  people  of  those  coun- 
tries have  for  all  time  used  silver  money  in  their  dealings,  and 
will  always  continue  to  do  so.  Therefore  to  facilitate  business 
transactions,  the  value  of  the  money  should  be  fixed  and  made 
permanent,  which  can  only  be  effected  through  coinage  into  legal 
tender  money,  otherwise  a  fluctuating  currency  deranges  com- 
-merce  and  becomes  destructive.  Those  two  countries  could 
now  readily  absorb  $750,000,000  of  gold  and  at  least 
$1,000,000,000  in  silver  coin.  In  fact,  double  the  amount  in 
silver  would  be  a  great  aid  to  make  the  people  prosperous. 

10UR   FOREIGN   DEBT. 
Here  is  an   estimate  of  our   annual   indebtedness   to   Euro- 
peans:      "In    the    'Forum',    Mr.    Heidelbach,    a    prominent    New 
York  foreign  banking  house,  a  heavy  exporter  of  gold,  gives  the 


I 


116 
amount  of  the  annual  indebtedness  of  the  United  States  to  Eu- 
rope about  as  follows:  , 

Money  spent  by  Americans  abroad $100,000,000 

Freight  carried   in   foreign  ships 100,000,000 

Dividends    and    interest    on    U.    S.    securities    held 

abroad 75,000,000 

Profits  of  foreign  corporations  doing  business  here.      75,000,000 

Total     $350,000,000 

"The  'American  Banker'  states  that  Mr.  J.  W.  Cross,  a 
London  banker,  estimated  the  amount  at  $325,000,000  annu- 
ally." 

MEXICO. 
About  185  8  its  money  circulation  did  not  exceed  $3  per 
capita.  The  writer  at  that  time  was  in  that  country  and  saw 
the  wretched  and  miserable  condition  of  the  masses,  most  of 
whom  were  peons  or  slaves  whose  wages  were  about  a  reale 
(121/^  cents)  per  day.  Bandits  roved  over  the  land,  who  fre- 
quently attacked  the  armed  conductas,  carrying  silver  from  the 
mines  to  the  seaports,  to  be  shipped  to  Europe.  In  1864  I  was 
again  in  Mexico  on  the  Rio  Grande,  buying  and  shipping  cotton. 
Money  was  far  more  plentiful  then  and  labor  scarcer,  as  the 
masses  were  in  either  the  Mexican  or  Maximillian  army.  Then  I 
usually  paid  laborers  $1.50  to  $2  per  day,  and  their  condition 
in  a  short  time  improved  rapidly  and  the  necessaries  and  conven- 
iences of  life  began  to  show  up  around  their  homes.  In  1900 
the  money  volume  was  over  $9  per  capita,  rating  the  population 
at  about  13,000,000,  as  follows: 

Mexican  silver  dollars $    85,000,000 

Bank  notes 32,666,130 

Total $117,666,130 

BANKING. 

The  three  leading  banks  of  the  City  of  Mexico  had  the  fol- 
lowing amounts  in  Mexican  silver  dollars,  also  circulation: 

Circulation 

Name  of  Bank.  Silver  Dollars.  Bank  Notes. 

National    Bank $28,593,450  $21,250,154 

London    Bank 10,614,949  9,501,476 

Mortgage  Bank 1,295,730  1,914,500 

Total    $40,504,129  $32,666,130 

These  banks  have  branches  in  all  the  large  cities;  besides 
there  are  many  private  banks.  Just  in  the  ratio  of  the  increased 
money  supply  has  tne  condition  of  the  masses  of  the  people  and 
of  the  country  wonderfully  improved.  Railroads  have  been  and 
are  still  being  constructed  in  every  portion  of  the  country,  also 
many  factories  and  vast  irrigation  systems.  Mouths  of  several 
rivers  have  been  jettied  and  grand  harbors  and  wharves  con- 
structed. Mr.  Howard  Hinds  of  Sonora  informed  the  writer  that 
he  employed  about  1,000  men  in  his  mine,  and  the  least  wages  he 
pays  is,  to  laborers,  75  cents,  and  from  that  up  to  $10  per  day; 
the  latter  price  in  gold  to  expert  American  mechanics.  Carlos 
Conant  of  Cocorito,  Sonora,  has  constructed  a  vast  irrigation  sys- 
tem to  irrigate  300,000  acres  of  choice  land  on  the  south  side  or 
the  Yaqui  river.     Wages  of  laborers  have  advanced  500  to  800 


117 

per  cent.  Under  the  able  administration  of  Porfiro  Diaz,  one  of 
the  most  industrious  men  of  the  country,  Mexico  has  made  aston- 
ishing progress. 

The  officials  in  their  anxiety  to  force  the  country  onward  have 
made  two  serious  mistakes;  one  was  in  issuing  about  $110,000,- 
000  bonds,  principal  and  interest  payable  in  gold,  to-wit: 

1^^  1888,  QV2  per  cent  interest £10,500,000 
^K.  1890,  61/4  per  cent  interest 6,000,000 
^^^n  1893,  61^  per  cent  interest 3,000.000 
^^^^K           Tehauntepec,  5  per  cent  interest.  .      2,700,000 


Total £22,200,000 


Mexico  produces  but  little  gold,  therefore  as  Mexican  silver 
dollars  are  excepted  from  paying  the  interest  or  principal  of  this 
heavy  debt,  silver  dollars  have  to  be  sold  as  bullion  to  acquire 
gold  to  make  the  payments.  This  exception  of  the  silver  dollar 
from  such  payment  of  debts  has  alone  caused  it  to  depreciate 
from  its  par  value  to  its  bullion  value  of  52  cents.  Just  as  our 
greenbacks  were  excepted  from  paying  custohi  duties,  our  merch- 
ants were  forced  to  sell  them  at  a  heavy  discount  to  procure  gold 
to  pay  duties.  Whenever  money  is  discredited  from  paying  debts, 
then  it  becomes  depreciated  under  its  par  value  of  100  cents.  It 
is  wrong  to  discredit  any  money  issued  by  government  from  pay- 
ment of  debts. 

The  other  serious  mistake  was  in  permitting  the  banks  in 
Mexico  to  issue  bank  notes,  a  prerogative  of  the  government, 
which  no  corporation  should  have  been  permitted  to  acquire.  It 
is  a  sovereign  power  of  the  government  alone.  The  government 
should  issue  all  the  money,  gold  and  silver  coin,  also  paper  money. 
The  government  of  Mexico  also  should  become  the  custodian  of 
the  silver  dollars  and  for  the  convenience  of  the  people  issue  silver 
certificates  against  the  same,  and  save  them  from  the  worry  and 
annoyance  of  handling  the  cumbersome  coin,  also  to  prevent 
abrasion  and  loss,  also  make  the  silver  certificates  a  legal  tender. 
Bleichroeder  and  Rothschild  got  ahead  of  Mexico,  and  are 
now  getting  our  country  into  their  clutches  and  impoverishing 
our  people. 

Mexico   as  well   as  the   United   States   should   throw   off   the 
oppressive  foreign  financial  yoke  and  maintain  their  dignity  and 
independence  for  which  the  people  fought  and  gained  from  their 
tyrannical   rulers.      The   importations   into   Mexico   of   late   years 
have  fallen  off,  while  the  exports  have  increased  enormously,  and 
that  country  is  now  advancing  onward  in  civilization  and  in  the 
near   future   will   become   a   powerful    nation   should   the   govern- 
ment adopt  a  wise,  generous  and  correct  financial  system.     The 
L^^jgovernment  of  Mexico  made  a  very  grave  blunder  in  having  the 
■^fcovernment  change  the   financial  system   in   regard  to  silver,   in 
B^R-educing  the  value  of  the  silver  dollar  coin,  from  the  legal  value 
I^K)f  late  are  now  most  grievously  suffering.     Mexican  silver  dollars 
I^Hpow  are  only  a  fluctuating  currency  like  so  much  silver  bullion 
I^Kvorth  44  cents  each,  and  is  now  causing  the  reaction  and  suffering. 
IB^  TARIFF. 

Ever  since  the  formation  of  our  government  the  tariff  has 
been  the  main  question  to  be  discussed  in  Congress.  It  has 
been  changed  very  often,  yet  it  is  as  unsatisfactory  now  as  it  was 
when  the  first  tariff  law  was  adopted,  and  such  will  always  be 
the  case  so  long  as  the  subject  has  to  be  settled  by  members  of 
Congress,  over  330  of  whom  are  lawyers,  some  of  them  being  the 


{ 


118 

paid  attorneys  of  the  wealthy  corporations  having  selfish  motives. 

The  only  correct  and  just  plan  for  the  settlement  of  the 
tariff  is  to  take  it  out  of  the  hands  of  the  politicians  and  have  the 
subject  referred  to  a  commission  to  investigate  and  report  to  Con- 
gress for  ratification. 

At  most  every  political  meeting  that  has  been  held  in  any 
part  of  the  country  by  either  of  the  parties,  the  first  and  main 
question  discussed  would  be  the  tariff.  Possibly  by  a  member 
of  Congress,  a  paid  lawyer,  to  hammer  at  the  subject,  and  tell  a 
few  of  his  old  yarns  to  amuse  the  crowd. 

('  I  have  heard  the  tariff  discussed  ever  since  before  the  elec- 
tion of  Harrison  and  Tyler,  and  the  question  is  no  nearer  being 
solved  now  than  then. 
y  The  people  should  lay  politics  aside  for  a  while,  and  elect 
Xmen  to  Congress  who  will  vote  for  the  adoption  of  a  sound  and 
I  generous  financial  system  for  our  government,  and  thereby  pre- 
l  vent  further  disastrous  financial  panics,  which  throw  vast  num- 
\  bers  of  people  into  idleness  and  check  the  consumption  of  the 
^products  of  the  country. 

The  Los  Angeles  "Times",  of  September  7,  1908,  statedf 
"The  exact  history,  and  the  direful  days  of  1893  to  1896  were  the 
direct  result  of  a  Democratic  free  trade  policy."  Ridiculous! 
The  frightful  contraction  of  the  money  circulation  brought  about 
by  the  action  of  President  Grover  Cleveland  was  the  sole  cause 
of  the  disastrous  financial  panic  of  1893.  It  is  the  same  policy 
of  a  contracted  money  circulation  that  has  originated  the  panic 
of  1907.  A  generous  volume  of  money  only  can  give  relief/ 
Money  is  the  power. 

EDUCATE. 

y^     Our  people  have  periodically  suffered  most  frightfully  from 

/  exceedingly  disastrous  financial  panics  that  prevailed  throughout 

/     our  country,  causing  intense  idleness,   great  suffering  and  much 

/       misery  to  very  great  numbers  of  our  worthy  people.       A  financial 

/        panic  broke  out  last  year,  that  is  now  increasing  in  severity  and 

I         prevailing  in  all  sections.     The  sole  cause  of  the  present  and  all 

I         former   panics   has   been    brought   on   by   the    inadequacy   of   the 

Y      volume  of  the  circulation  to  carry  on  the  industries  of  our  coun- 

\^  try  successfully  and  maintaining  a  continuous  growth  of  the  vast 

wealth. 

.  REMEDY. 

y/^        The  only  remedy  to   check  the   present   panic,   restore   con- 

/  fidence  and  return   prosperity  to  the  people,   is  for  Congress  to 

/     increase  the   volume  of  the  circulation  adequately  for  the   vast 

/       needs  of  the  people  to  carry  on  their  industries  successfully  and 

/        thus  maintain  the  continuous  growth  of  wealth.     Otherwise  the 

I         panic    will    continue    to    grow    in    severity,    bankruptcy    increase 

I         greatly,  idleness  prevail  to  a  great  extent,  and  poverty,   misery 

I        and  crime  result,  causing  within  a  few  years  an  exceedingly  dis- 

\       astrous  financial  panic  similar  to  those  of  1837,  1857,  1873  and 

\      1893,  that  I  witnessed,  and  of  which  I  am  familiar  with  the  con- 

^ditions,  result  and  the  cause. 

CONGRESS. 
Congress  during  the  last  session  enacted  a  law  to  increase 
the  volume  of  the  circulation  to  the  extent  of  $500,000,000  in  an 
emergency  currency,  a  temporary  makeshift  and  totally  inade- 
quate to  afford  relief  to  our  very  active  business  people.  Besides, 
a  commission  was  authorized  to  investigate  and  report  to  Congress 
a  remedy  to  give  relief.  The  President  has  appointed  a  commission, 
which    is    now    making    investigation    and    conferring    with    the 


119 
^Rothschilds,  the  great  Money  Kings  of  Europe.  Heretofore 
"^similar  commissions  were  appointed,  went  to  Europe  and  con- 
ferred with  the  Rothschilds,  which  resulted,  in  my  judgment,  inju- 
riously to  our  people,  because  the  Rothschilds  were  interested 
parties  then,  and  would  be  interested  in  giving  advice  now  that 
would  be  in  their  interests. 

LAWYERS  IN  CONGRESS. 
There  are  over  300  lawyers  and  quite  a  number  of  bankers 
in  Congress,  who  should  be  able  and  wise  enough  to  enact  an 
honest,  just  and  generous  financial  system  for  our  government. 
But  there  are  too  many  interested  members  to  do  so  conscien- 
tiously, being  attorneys  for  the  national  banks,  owners  of  stock, 
or  borrowers  of  money  from  the  banks. 

C^^  JEFFERSON,  JACKSON  AND  TYLER. 

Jefferson,  Jackson  and  Tyler,  each  in  their  days  as  Presi- 
dent, made  every  possible  effort  for  the  adoption  by  Congress  of 
an  honest,  just  and  generous  financial  system  for  our  govern- 
ment, without  individual  alliances,  to  retain  its  prerogative  and 
issue  the  legal  tender  money  of  its  own  creation,  as  shown  and 
embodied  in  their  respective  messages. 

THE  OPPOSITION. 

But  the  larger  number  of  the  lawyers  and  bankers  in  Con- 
gress always  opposed  Governments  issuing  the  legal  tender  gov- 
ernment money.  In  the  time  of  the  refusal  of  President  Jackson 
to  approve  the  re-charter  of  the  United  States  Bank,  an  investi- 
gation was  made,  and  some  70  members  of  Congress  were 
found  to  be  borrowers  from  the  Bank,  to  the  extent  of  $240,000. 
It  is  more  than  probable  that  quite  a  number  of  the  lawyers  and 
bankers,  members  of  congress,  are  now  too  deeply  interested  to 
act  independently  and  solely  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  Some 
are  ignorant  of  a  correct  financial  system,  having  devoted  a  life 
to  the  study  of  technicalities,  and  their  brains  are  full  of  crotchets. 

(^  ZEAIX)rS  AND  INDEPENDENT. 

Among  the  very  large  number  of  lawyers  and  bankers  in 
Congress,  there  are  quite  a  number  of  them  who  are  zealous,  in- 
dependent, and  making  every  effort  to  secure  for  the  people  a 
just,  honest  and  generous  financial  system  for  our  government. 
I  have  read  quite  a  number  of  speeches  delivered  by  them  in 
Congress  urging  such  measures. 

INVESTIGATE. 
The  people  have  too  long  neglected  to  investigate  and  study 
the  financial  conditions,  in  order  to  vote  for  suitable  parties  to 
represent  them  in  the  respective  legislative  bodies.  Therefore 
they  have  had  to  suffer  very  severely  from  the  several  very  dis- 
astrous financial  panics  that  have  prevailed  periodically  through- 
out our  country. 

INTEREST  YOraSELVES. 
Members  of  high  schools,  universities  and  colleges,  as  well 
as  professors  and  presidents  of  such  institutions,  also  people 
struggling  for  a  livelihood,  should  turn  over  a  new  leaf,  investi- 
gate and  educate  themselves  upon  a  correct  financial  system  for 
our  government.  They  could  hold  public  meetings  and  discuss 
the  subject  for  their  own  and  the  general  welfare  of  the  people. 
It  would  dismember  parties,  drive  out  bosses,  and  prevent  further 
graft.  Thereafter,  prosperity  in  lieu  of  disastrous  financial  panics 
^ould  prevail  throughout  our  land.  J 


J 


y 


out  J 


120 

dAUSE  OF  DISASTROUS  FINANCIAL  PANICS. 

A.  very  inadequate  volume  of  money  in  circulation  throughout 
the  country  has  been  the  cause  of  each  of  the  disastrous  financial  / 
panics  that  have  occurred  within  my  business  life,  to-wit:    1837,  I 
1857,  1873,  1893  and  this  of  1907,  now  increasing  in  severity.      / 

RELIEF  FROM  DISASTROUS     FINANCIAL  PANICS  v 

A  considerable  increase  in  the  volume  of  the  circulation  of^V 
money  throughout  the  country  brought  prosperous  conditions  to     \ 
the  people  on  each  of  the  respective  dates,  to-wit:      Relief  came       \ 
in  1846  from  the  panic  of  1837.     In  1863   prosperous  conditions        \ 
returned  from  the  panic  which  originated  in  185  7.     In  1879  the 
large  increased  circulation  of  money  restored  the  people  to  pros-        I 
perity  from  the  panic  of  1873.     The  large  increased  circulation  of       / 
money  by  19  00  relieved  the  people  from  the  panic  of  1893,  and    / 
when  the  circulation  shall  have  been  made  adequate,  relief  will  • 
come  to  the  people  from  the  panic  of  1907.  'I 

One  source  through  which  immense  benefit  could  be  derived  V 
immediately,  would  be  the  enactment  by  Congress  of  the  restora-  \ 
tion  of  the  coinage  of  silver.     On  March  28,  1878,  Congress  passed     \ 
the  law  to  purchase  monthly  four  and  a  half  million  ounces  silver,       \ 
presuming   it  would   absorb   all   the   silver   mined.      Immediately        ) 
silver  bullion  advanced  from  90  cents  to  $1.21  per  ounce,  wheat  to 
$1.25  per  bushel  and  cotton  to  12  cents  per  pound;  but  the  Roths- 

1  V     childs  had  prepared  for  the  occasion  by  hoarding  silver  bullion, 
and  offering  a  large  quantity  for  sale  at  a  reduced  price,  which 

1^ immediately  caused  a  decline  in  value  of  silver,  wheat  and  cotton. 

A         James  S.  Sherman,  candidate  for  vice-president,  on  the  24th 

/of  September,  1908,  delivered  an  address  before  the  Honest  Money 

/    League,  of  New  York  City,  denouncing  silver  coin,  as  a  debased 

/      currency,  which  is  not  correct.     Our  people  were  served  with  silver 

I       dollars  beneficially,  equally  with  gold,  for  81  years,  when  Senator 

I       John   Sherman    surreptitiously   had    Congress    on    September 


\    its  legal  value — It  is  the  law  of  legal  tender,  that  makes  and  un- 

^^akes  money.  -^ 

\     /•        William  H.  Taft,  while  Governor  of  the  Philippines  had  the 

U  value  of  the  silver  dollar  of  that  country  reduced  in  value  from 
$1  to  50c  each,  thus  perpetrating  a  great  wrong  upon  the  people. 
^         No  person  should  be  voted  for  legislative  office,  who  is  op- 
/ posed  to  silver  coinage  on  an  equality  with  gold,  as  it  existed 
/     formerly.      Our  country  needs  a  vast  addition  to  the  supply  of 
V, money  to  give  the  people  relief  from  the  panic  of  1907. 

EUROPEAN  NATIONS  COINING  SILVER. 


sed  ^ 

ver        fi 
tor       / 
12,     / 
^ay  / 


/  n( 


P     M  All  European   nations  are  constantly  buying  silver  bullion7 

'     /  now  at  about  51  cents  per  ounce,  and  having  the  bullion  coined 

/     into  legal  tender  money  at  the  ratio  of  about  $1.33   per  ounce, 

I        making  a  profit  of  about  82  cents  per  ounce,  between  the  price 

V       paid  for  the  bullion  and  coinage  gained  through  its  issue  as  legal 

V^  tender  money.  * 

BRITISH    INDIA. 
'     /        In  1906  British  India  coined  $64,891,356  in  legal  tender  sil- 
/  ver  rupees  and  gained  a  profit  between  the  price  paid  for  the 
/     silver  bullion  and  the  value  gained  in   issuing  the  legal  tender 
(     rupees  of  about  $32,000,000. 


*' /        Candidates  Taft  and  Sherman  ar^  not  worthy  of  the 
/eration  of  the  silver  miners  of  our  country.      Only  foreig 
^ernments  are  to  be  regarded  in  their  consideration. 
N         San  Diego  Cal.,  Sept.  20,  1908.       jfisSE  GILLMORE. 


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